Concordia in 2020

Located at the mountain plateau called Dome C in Antarctica, Concordia is one of only three bases that is inhabited all year long. The current 12 inhabitants arrived in November 2019. They said goodbye to the summer crew and the last plane for nine months in February 2020, just weeks before the global pandemic was officially announced. 

While populations around the world isolated at home, life continued as normal at Concordia.

“Who would have thought we didn’t have to come all the way here to study isolation,” says ESA sponsored medical doctor Stijn Thoolen.

Throughout the year, Stijn has been busy collecting blood and stool samples and coordinating questionnaires and other activities for studies on altitude problems, immunity and hygiene, mindfulness and, in a first for the Concordia crew, sex.

Between the extreme altitude – 3233 m above sea level means the crew experience chronic hypobaric hypoxia or lack of oxygen in the brain – and four months of total darkness during the winter, the base is fertile ground to research the effects of isolated, confined and extreme environments on the human body and mind.

For this reason, each year ESA sponsors a medical doctor to oversee biomedical experiments at the base.

Luckily, operations can continue for the 2020-21 season albeit at a reduced capacity. Incoming medical doctor Nicholas Smith and his crewmates have had a challenging time preparing for their year at the base but are due to arrive in the coming week, after a two-week quarantine in Tasmania, Australia.

If you are a medical doctor and are interested in a winter over in Antarctica, applications are open for Concordia Research MD for the 2022 winter-over season. Deadline for applications is 22 January 2021. Please note that the Covid-19 pandemic and regulations might impact this schedule.

A collaboration between the French Polar Institute (IPEV) and the Italian Antarctic programme (PNRA), Concordia will soon also welcome a reduced number of scientists for the summer campaign. Researchers from a range of disciplines, including meteorology, glaciology and astronomy, spend weeks collecting samples and running tests at the bustling station. However, due to the pandemic the summer season will end a few weeks earlier than usual, by mid-January.

Researchers can look out for a joint ESA/IPEV/PNRA Announcement of Opportunity for biomedical research at Concordia in January 2021. Interested science teams can propose biomedical experiments that, if selected, will be implemented via ESA at Concordia.

To learn more about life and work at Concordia, explore the Chronicles from Concordia blog.