SANAE

The research programme at the SANAE IV base is carried out under the auspices of the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP).

History

The first expedition, SANAE 1, overwintered at Norway Station, taken over by South Africa from Norway after the end of the IGY. Later teams overwintered at SANAE I, SANAE II and SANAE III, built on the Fimbul Ice Shelf near the Blåskimen Island. Built on the moving ice shelf, these stations inevitably got buried, and eventually broke off as part of icebergs drifting away. Successive stations were always repositioned at the same geographical position of 70°19′00″S 2°21′00″W / 70.3167°S 2.3500°W. SANAE IV was built on the nunatak Vesleskarvet in the hope of having a base with a longer lifetime. The first team to overwinter at SANAE IV was SANAE 36 in 1997. The base has been staffed uninterruptedly since then.

Other expeditions also established Borga Base and Sarie Marais Field Base.