The Georg von Neumayer Station was inaugurated on 24 February 1981 as the Federal Republic of Germany’s first year-round research base in Antarctica.
It was located on the Ekström Ice Shelf, approximately 200 metres thick, at Atka Bay in the Weddell Sea.
It was named after Georg von Neumayer, an important German polar explorer and geophysicist of the 19th century.
The construction of the station in 1980 marked the beginning of a permanent West German presence on the Antarctic continent.
The structure consisted of two parallel steel tubes, each with a diameter of about eight metres.
Insulated containers were housed inside these tubes, serving as living quarters, laboratories and supply centres.
The decision to use this underground construction method was intended to protect the station from the extreme Antarctic storms.
A key research objective was to establish long-term observatories for geophysics, meteorology and atmospheric chemistry.
The station provided important data for research into the global climate and the dynamics of Antarctic ice.
A special technical feature was its own energy supply via diesel generators, which were responsible for heating and electricity generation.
From 1982 onwards, logistical supplies were largely ensured by the research icebreaker Polarstern.
As the station was built directly on the flowing ice, it moved slowly towards the sea together with the ice shelf.
A major problem was the constant fresh snowfall, which caused the station to sink deeper into the ice every year.
Over time, the enormous pressure exerted by the surrounding ice led to deformation of the steel shell.
Due to these physical stresses, the service life of Neumayer I was limited to around ten years from the outset.
In 1992, the station was finally replaced by Neumayer Station II, which was built nearby. Neumayer I was dismantled in the following years, with large parts of the technology and interior fittings being removed.
Today, the remains of the old tube construction are completely frozen into the ice and, due to the flow velocity of the ice, are located far away from their original location.
The station laid the foundation for today’s state-of-the-art Neumayer Station III, which is based on a completely different, stilt-based principle. Neumayer I remains remembered as a pioneering achievement that paved the way for Germany to become a leader in international research in Antarctica.