The most remote research stations in the world

Concordia Station in Antarctica is the world’s most remote research station. Image: Shutterstock

Discover more about the world’s most remote research stations, where they are located and what studies are conducted there

Around the world, approximately 1,300 research stations carry out studies vital to our understanding of the planet. From studying cloud forests in the Peruvian Andes, to those researchers braving arctic temperatures and 24-hour darkness in Antarctica, these bases are pivotal in adding to our wealth of knowledge of habitats, animals, plants and wider ecosystems.

Here we uncover some of the most remote research stations across the planet, their research aims and where they are located…

1) Concordia Research Station

Sitting in the midst of Antarctica, Concordia is regarded as the most remote research base on the planet. During the harsh winter, the crew must solve any issues on their own, with no outside help able to be flown in or reach the base via land.

The nearest human settlement is around 600 kilometres away at Russia’s Vostok station, a distance that makes Concordia more remote than the International Space Station.

Each year, up to 16 individuals spend around a year at a time living at Concordia for scientific research. The base is so unique that the European Space Agency even utilise it to research future missions to other planets, utilising the barren landscape as an ideal test model for extraterrestrial planets.

At Concordia, terrestrial climate studies take place, as well as studies in astronomy and astrophysics, earth sciences, biology, medicine and remote sensing.

2) Princess Elisabeth Research Station

Princess Elisabeth Research Station is located upon the granite ridge of Utsteinen Nunatak, at an altitude of 1,382 metres. The entire station produces zero emissions and is powered entirely by renewable energy. It does this through a range of innovative designs, including the station’s outer shell having a layered design allowing it to maximise both heat distribution and energy use. As well as this, the station takes advantage of 24-hour daylight in summer and high winds to provide a source of clean energy.

Water is also purified and reused for showers, toilets and the washing machine to ensure minimal water usage across the station.

3) Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory

Hundreds of metres below southeast China’s Kaiping county lies an underground detector – a giant, 35-metre-wide acrylic sphere costing $300 million –created to observe subatomic particles known as neutrinos. In carrying out such observations, scientists are hopeful that our understanding of the fundamentals of physics, astrophysics and cosmology could be improved.

The detector is newly-built, with aims to begin operations this summer. It is one of three being built across the globe, with the other two located in the US and Japan.

4) Wayqecha Cloud Forest Conservation Hub

Established twenty years ago, Wayqecha Cloud Forest Conservation Hub is Peru’s only permanent field research station focused solely on cloud forest ecology and management. It spans more than 1,450 acres, and is situated at 3,000 metres above sea level.

Constant supplies of water helps to support a widespread diversity of plants, which in turn supports the existence of birds, amphibians, orchids and mammals.

One important feature of the research site is a canopy walk – the first of its kind in Peru – that allows observers to view forest from 65 to 144 feet above.

5) Los Amigos Conservation Hub

Located at the base of Peru’s southern Andes in lowland Amazonian forest, Los Amigos provides scientists with access to various forest types and aquatic habitats. First established 25 years ago, the site is today a leading training hub for young scientists and conservationists. As well as this, Los Amigos also comprises millions of acres of protected wilderness, such as palm swamps, bamboo thickets and oxbow lakes.

Wildlife is abundant in the area, with 12 globally threatened species present – from giant otters to harpy eagles and spider monkeys.

Budding scientists also benefit from regular presentations from visiting researchers as well as involvement with the station’s long-term ecological monitoring programme.

6) Villa Carmen Conservation Hub

Stretching for more than 7,500 acres of land in Southern Peru is the Villa Carmen Conservation Hub. The research site is situated almost 4,000 feet above sea level and hosts a wide plethora of species in habitats ranging from cloud forest to montane and lowland rainforest.

The station also neighbours several Indigenous communities such as the Wachiperi and Machiguenga.

As well as its ample forests, the research site also features streams, rivers and waterfalls.

7) Signy Research Station

Signy Research Station is one of Britain’s smallest stations in Antarctica, and is only occupied in summer. Research there focuses mainly on bird populations and terrestrial ecology.

It is located on one of the remote South Orkney Islands, which lie more than 1,300 kilometres from the Falkland Islands. The island has just two flowering plants – Antarctic hairgrass and Antarctic pearlwort. A range of predatory mites are at the top of the island’s food web, since no indigenous terrestrial vertebrates live on Signy. Marine life is plentiful near the research station, though – from Weddel sea pups to crabeater seals.

The research base has conducted long-term studies of several species from Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins to populations of southern giant petrel. One in ten of the world’s 50,000 southern giant petrels live around Signy.

8) Villa Carmen Conservation Hub

The station also neighbours several Indigenous communities such as the Wachiperi and Machiguenga.

As well as its ample forests, the research site also features streams, rivers and waterfalls.

9) Vostok Station

Established by the Soviet Union in 1957, Vostok Station is the coldest – and most remote – Russian Antarctic station due to the severe temperatures and climatic conditions there. In summer, due to low ozone concentrations, the station experiences high UV radiation with similar levels to the northern cost of Africa.

The station is located around 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) from the South Pole, on top of approximately 3,700 metres of ice. During the summer, Vostok Station supports around 30 scientists.

Lying beneath the ice-sheet of Vostok Station is Lake Vostok, the fifth largest freshwater body of water in the world by volume. It has been covered by ice for up to 25 million years.

10) Halley VI Research Station

Halley VI is the British Antarctic Survey’s research base, located on the floating Brunt Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea. It helps to provide up to 70 scientists with a base for understanding crucial earth science on the continent, such as problems including climate change, sea level rise and space weather.

Compared to previous research bases, this one boasts a design that cuts energy consumption by 26 per cent per m2, reduces water consumption to just 50L per person per day, provides vacuum drainage, energy efficient equipment and sewage treatment to minimise environmental impact.

Its aerodynamic shape aids in snow management, and it sits lightly on the ice – meaning when research is completed, the base can be removed leaving nothing behind.

Typical temperatures at Halley are below -20°C with extreme lows of around -55°C. There is total, 24-hour darkness there for 105 days per year.