YES, WE HAVE A FOOT IN ANTARCTICA

The Comandante Ferraz Brazilian Antarctic Base (Portuguese: Estação Antártica Comandante Ferraz) is a permanent Antarctic research station named after the Brazilian Navy Commander Luís Antônio de Carvalho Ferraz, who visited Antarctica many times with the British exploration team and managed to convince his government to create a self-guided Brazilian Antarctic Program.

Located in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, 130 km from the South American continent, the station began operating on 6 February 1984, brought to Antarctica in modules by the oceanographic ship Barão de Teffé (H-42) and several other Brazilian naval ships. It now houses about 60 people, including researchers, technicians and staff, military and civilians.

The main objective of the base lies on climate change like global warming, the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion and on the raising level of the oceans. The personnel working at the base collect samples of pollutants which often come from overseas. They also carry out research in meteorology, continental and marine geology, oceanography, astrophysics, geomagnetism, and nuclear geophysics.

Work on the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Base (EACF) will be resumed by the Brazilian government over the next four months – the summer period in the region. And the 31st Antarctica Operation (Operantar) is already at sea, mobilizing 200 researchers and five ships in an initiative from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), the Ministry of Environment (MMA) and the Ministry of Defense. 

According to Rear Admiral Marcos Silva Rodrigues, this is the largest Antarctica Operation yet in terms of logistics and has become even larger due to the accident in February, when the Brazilian base was destroyed. "After the fire, we removed toxic and perishable materials so as to avoid polluting the environment, and we sealed off the Comandante Ferraz Base. Now, after defining this operation, we are boarding all the equipment needed for the three actions of this Operantar, and we will clean the area and reestablish communications," he explained.

Sources: Brazilian Government and Wikipedia