Fossil Bluff Station
Coordinates: 71 ° 20 ′ 0 ″ S , 68 ° 17 ′ 0.2 ″ W.
The Fossil Bluff Station (Station KG of the British Antarctic Survey BAS) is an Antarctic base in the United Kingdom . It was opened in 1961 and lies at the foot of Fossil Bluff , a rocky ridge on Alexander I Island .
It basically consists of a cabin called the Bluebell Cottage that can comfortably accommodate four people.
The station was inhabited during the winters of 1961, 1962, and 1969 to 1975. After the nearby Rothera station (Station R) was fully operational in the winter of 1976 , Fossil Bluff was closed. After that, use was only allowed in summer.
Since then, during the Antarctic summer (October to March) it has been used as an advanced field station by research groups at Rothera Station. They carry out research in the fields of geology , glaciology and field geophysics.
It also serves as a forward facility for aircraft refueling and is managed from the Rothera base. About 1 km south of the station there is a 1200 meter long unprocessed snow runway, which is marked by barrels.
Fossil Bluff is served by air from Adelaide (Station T) and Rothera and by land from Stonington Island (Station E). Twin Otter planes transport fuel from Rothera to Fossil Bluff every summer to replenish the station's fuel supplies. The flight time from Rothera to Fossil Bluff is approximately 90 minutes.