Research station
Biological research stations developed during a time of European colonization and imperialism where naturalists were employed to conduct observations on fauna and flora.
[6] Similarly, stations in Antarctica are built to ensure that they are well insulated against the sub-zero temperatures of the exterior landscape with many redevelopments being required over the years to overcome issues associated with snowdrifts, accessibility and rusting.
During the 18th and early 19th century, field stations were not yet formally established, and European naturalists and biologists would conduct their research through imperial scientific explorations.
[3] For example, in 1813, Charles Darwin was appointed the naturalist on the Royal Navy ship, HMS Beagle, and his diary journals from that voyage contributed significantly to his later scientific theories on evolution and natural selection.
[13] Similarly, Joseph Banks was also an English naturalist who was appointed the botanist of imperial collaboration between the Royal Navy Society scientific expedition in 1768 on HMS Endeavour to the South Pacific which was heralded as the discovery of Australia or Terra Nullius as it was known at the time.
Its three goals consist of 1) furthering scientific discovery and knowledge, 2) expanding the educational scope of tropical natural resources and 3) helping to shape policies that will impact these regions.
[4] There are also numerous other organizations and institutes, both public and private, around the world that support the funding, approval and maintenance of biological research stations.
[5] The Wohnrad's habitat wheel consisted of habitation units, laboratories and observatories which would measure 30 meters in diameter and whose centrifugal force would generate a sense of gravity for the crew members.
In the earlier years the development of the ISS in the 1990s, different countries brought different philosophies and approaches to the construction, design and transportation of research stations.
[6] The United States, Japanese and European nations were guided by four, consistent main principles: accessibility, maintainability, modularity and reconfigurability.
It also took into account the preferences of the crew members who largely indicated that the interior design of the station would be constructed with distinct floors, ceiling and walls.
The majority of research stations in Antarctica are located in these coastal regions with a large number being clustered alongside the peninsula of the continent.
[29] These research stations are built to accommodate for the sub-zero climatic conditions of the region as well as considering the placement and construction of it building itself.
[30] Antarctic research stations need to be built in a manner to minimize issues such as insulation, freezing of concrete during the building process and the potential for the accumulation of drifting snow.
[31] It was not until post World War II when research stations began to be built on a wider and more commercial scale.
[32] Research stations during this time were made up of standard cool room panels and utilized expanded Bakelite insulation.
This did occur in 1968, when the Halley Research Station I operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) had to be shut down as it was covered in snow.
[32] After this period of trial and error, in the early 2000s, there began a movement to create more consistent, commercialized structures which emphasized durability.
[34] The resulting design consists of an elevated station set on hydraulic stilts which allowed operators to physically move or relocate it out of snow drifts.
