Research stations in Antarctica Meteorological Office, Ministry of Livestock and National Postal and Telegraphs Office. In 1906, Argentina communicated to the international community the establishment of a permanent base on South Orkney Islands. Little happened for the following forty years until the Second World War, when the British launched Operation Tabarin in 1943, to establish a presence on the continent. The chief reason was to establish solid British claims to various uninhabited islands and parts of Antarctica, reinforced by Argentine sympathies toward Germany. Prior to the start of the war, German aircraft had dropped markers with swastikas across Queen Maud Land in an attempt
Argentine Antarctica 2 seasons with the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of Doctor Otto Nordenskiöld. Shortly afterwards, in 1904, the Orcadas permanent base was already fully operational. Years later other bases would be created, some permanent and others seasonal. The first Argentine expedition to reach the South Pole was the 1965 Operación 90. Argentine activities in Antarctica are coordinated by the Instituto Antártico Argentino (IAA) and Dirección Nacional del Antártico (DNA). The estimated Argentine Antarctica area is , of which is land. The ice in the glacier shell has a thickness of 2 km on average. Temperatures range from 0 °C in summer and