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During the last week of December 2024, temperatures at PEA went above freezing for some time. In this photo, members of the BELARE team clearing snow from the roof of PEA on a warm day to avoid metlwater pooling on the roof of the station's annexes.

This is the typical appearance of a meteorite found in the blue ice area surrounding the Belgica Mountains. Meteorites are found concentrated in blue ice areas, where the flow of ice is obstructed by nunataks or mountain ranges and where katabatic winds ablate the ice, bringing buried samples to the surface.

Close-up of a carbonaceous chondrite from the Belgica Mountains, containing some of the oldest condensed phases of the Solar Nebula (white inclusions). 

When a meteorite is found in the field, its GPS position and a provisional number are noted, after which the rock is put in a plastic bag. The meteorites are kept frozen for their journey to the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences and are then defrosted with care to avoid any alteration of the samples.

Micrometeorites recovered from the Belgica Mountains. Micrometeorites between 50 micrometer and 2 mm in diameter are very important to understand the origin and evolution of the solar system. They contain information different from that provided by larger meteorites and may derive fromunknown asteroids.

This is the typical appearance of a meteorite in a moraine near Mount Notre-Dame-de-Loree: dark, dense, morphologically distinct rocks, sometimes with fusion crust as the result of the passage through the atmosphere appear. Meteorites are found concentrated in blue ice areas, where the flow of ice is obstructed by nunataks or mountain ranges and where katabatic winds ablate the ice, bringing buried samples to the surface. 

Team members and scientists who just arrived at the station practice rescuing inured colleagues while on a a field expedition away from the station. This is an essential skill for everyone to learn before they are allowed to go on a field expedition.

Here newly arrived crew and scientists practice bringing an injured colleague back to the station for emergency treatment.  For health and safety reason, each new batch of crew and scientists must undergo medical and field training before they can head out into the feild on research expeditions.

On December 24th, 2024, the new hydrogen production facilities were inaugurated at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica. The first hydrogen produced was used to fill a radiosonde balloon, which are regulary launched from the station.