New TAAF stamp for 2011

A new TAAF stamp to be issued 1 April 2011 - Osiris: Southern Patrol. This is a reprint of a 2006 issue, this time with a face value of 0.60€

Preseve the Polar Regions and Glaciers beyond 2009

Just when you thought it was over... At the end of 2009, India issued what I thought would be the last issue of this series. But in November of 2010, Uzbekistan issued a single stamp with the crystal logo on it. And then early in 2011, Serbia issued a small stamp sheet with a pair of stamps also baring the crystal logo. The most recent (that I have seen) is this pair of stamps from Belarus. issued on 11 February 2011. What I like most about these stamps isn't so much the stamp issue itself, but the phlatelic website for the Repiblic of Belarus. Some detailed information about these stamps can be found there.

Neumayer Station

This letter came back to me from The Alfred Wegener Institute of Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany. It was sent down to Neumayer Station III where the stamp in the left corner was applied (or so I was told). It was cancelled aboard the research icebreaker RV Polarstern before coming back to me through 'regular' postal channels.

Neumayer III is a modern research base and has only been in operation for a couple of years. It sits on the Ekström Ice Shelf which is moving towards the ocean at a rate of 200m per year. Six meter tall hydraulic stilts keep the base above the accumulating snow. Here is a webcam shot of the Neumayer III.

SANAE - South Africa

The South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) operates a base on the Antarctic Peninsula, currently SANAE IV. Summer population can reach 100 and the overwinter staff numbers about 10. The program is serviced by the S.A. Agulhas. Even though this cover was brought down to SANAE by Agulhas and the cancel says "Antarctica - Waterfront", I'm quite certain it was really cancelled in Cape Town. Agulhas is scheduled for retirement in the Spring of 2012.