French southern and Antarctic landsFor nearly a month, the French territory on Amsterdam Island in the South Indian Ocean has been absorbed in flames.
Situated about half the road between Australia, Antarctica and Madagascar, the island has spotted burning more than 55% of the area of 54 square km.
The island of Amsterdam has no permanent population, but the researchers have been located there since the 80s.
After the outbreak of fires, 31 people were evacuated to Reunion Island, closer to Madagascar. And last week, the French authorities launched a fire control mission and an assessment of their impact.
French southern and Antarctic landsThe most flame was discovered on January 15 by a scientist exploring the atmosphere.
According to a report by the Laboratory of Climate and Environment (LCES), it erupted near the Pointe Bénédicte Observatory, which monitors greenhouse gases, mercury and aerosols in the atmosphere.
Despite the best of the residents, the fire spread to the Martin-De-Viwis research base. They were evacuated early the next day by a fishery boat of Omari, the Australian who was walking around.
Remy Chazot, a computer scientist that is based on the island, told the Le Mond newspaper that the band was “incredibly lucky” that the boat is in the area.
“This boat had to leave a week earlier, but it had not caught its lobster quota. Otherwise, things would complicate themselves.”
Copernicus monitoring programSince then, the evacuators have been transferred to Reunion, another French territory.
The fire spread across the island of Amsterdam due to dry conditions and strong winds. The island has no river and winds can reach up to 40 km/h (24 miles/h). It is believed that it has partially spread through the network of peat swamps on the island.
Although the full scale of damage has not yet been appreciated, satellite images show that the solar panels on the island are affected by the fire, as well as its food and communication lines.
Environmentalists also expressed concern about the impact on the wild.
Due to its unusual climate, the island is rich in biodiversity, serving as a place to reproduce the southern elephants and sub-anthrctic leather seals.
It is home to several species of Albatross, including Amsterdam Albatross, which multiply exclusively on the island, and 84% of Albatross's population in the world's yellow nose. A colony of the southern rockhopper penguin also lives on the island.
French southern and Antarctic landsDue to its remoteness and subsequent lack of pollution, the island is also used to study changes in the atmosphere and how it affects climate.
Evacuation is the first time atmospheric research has been stopped on the island for 45 years.
“It will take time and money to get back to our normal, and this break will mean a lot of lack of data collection on our research,” Mark Delot, Director of the Lces mission to Amsterdam Islands, said.
“This, of course, is not good news for such a unique place.”
On February 7, an intelligence mission sailed aboard a French Navy ship.
According to the Southern and Antarctic Territories Department of France, the mission is made up of four firefighters from the collection and seven technicians, one of whom is a doctor.
Instead of completely repayment, the mission intends to secure the agreement. They will also strive to reveal the cause of the fire and how it spreads, as well as restore the energy and water networks of the island.