Port-aux-Français
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Port-aux-Français
| native_name = Port-aux-Français
| other_name = Port of France
Port to the French
| settlement_type = Scientific Research Base
| image_skyline = Port aux Français.JPG
| imagesize = 300px
| image_caption = Port-aux-Français in 2005
| image_flag =
| image_seal =
| image_map =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = France Kerguelen#Indian Ocean
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Kerguelen Islands & Indian Ocean
|pushpin_relief = yes
| coordinates = {{coord|49.35|S|70.218889|E|format=dms|region:AQ|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = France
| subdivision_type1 = Territory
| subdivision_name1 = TAAF
| subdivision_type2 = District
| subdivision_name2 = Kerguelen Islands
| established_title = Established
| established_date = {{start date|1963|df=y}}
| leader_title =
| leader_name =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_total_km2 = 0.70
| area_land_km2 = 0.70
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 10
| population_footnotes =
| population_as_of =
| population_blank1_title = Summer
| population_blank1 = 120
| population_blank2_title = Winter
| population_blank2 = 45
| timezone =
| utc_offset = +5
| code1_name = UN/LOCODE
| code1_info = TF PFR
| blank_name_sec1 = Active times
| blank_info_sec1 = All year-round
| blank1_name_sec1 = Status
| blank1_info_sec1 = Operational
| blank_name_sec2 = Activities
| blank_info_sec2 = {{Collapsible list |bullets=on |Meteorology |Geophysics |Biology}}
| postal_code_type =
| postal_code =
| area_code =
| website = taaf.fr
}}
Port-aux-Français ({{IPA|fr|pɔʁ o fʁɑ̃sɛ}}) is the main settlement of the Kerguelen Islands, and French Southern and Antarctic Lands, in the south Indian Ocean.
Occupancy
The settlement is located on the shore of the Gulf of Morbihan. About 45 residents spend winter there, although the group can reach over 120 people in the summer. The location was chosen in 1949 by the head of the mission Pierre Sicaud for sheltered location which was suitable for the construction of an air field, though this was never built.
From 1955 to 1957, a French slaughterhouse company, SIDAP, built an elephant seal processing plant equipped with Australian machinery. The factory opened its doors just after the wedding of the director, {{Interlanguage link|Marc Péchenart|fr}}, and Martine Raulin on 16 December 1957. This was the first marriage ever celebrated on the islands. The factory closed in 1960, and the equipment was sent to Réunion in 2005.
Port-aux-Français has a shallow seaport which allows the unloading of supply ships (usually the Marion Dufresne) with barges shuttling to the quay.
The settlement, in addition to the logistical facilities for its own operation, hosts scientific laboratories (biology, geophysics), technical stations (such as meteorology, telecommunications and satellite tracking), a cinema and a small medical centre. There is also a small Catholic Church{{snd}}Notre-Dame des Vents{{snd}}in the settlement.
Tidal gauges
The base of Port-aux-Français is equipped with a marigraphic station, having three measuring devices:
- two tide gauges to measure pressure at sea bottom
- a radar measuring the sea level.
The two marigraphs and the radar send data to a local server, which relays them hourly to the Internet via the Argos satellite system.
Climate
Port-aux-Français has an ocean-moderated mild tundra climate (Köppen climate classification ET).{{cite journal | author=Peel, M. C. and Finlayson, B. L. and McMahon, T. A. | year=2007| title= Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification | journal=Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume=11 | issue=5| pages=1633–1644 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 | bibcode=2007HESS...11.1633P| url=http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf | issn = 1027-5606| doi-access=free }} Temperatures (without windchill) tend to remain fairly stable throughout the year, rarely reaching over {{convert|18|C|F}} or falling below {{convert|-8|C|F}}.{{cite web | url = http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weatherall.php3?s=89916&units= | title = Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Port Aux Francais, France| publisher = Weatherbase | accessdate = February 28, 2013}} The average temperature in February, the warmest month, is {{convert|7.5|C|F}} with a maximum of {{convert|11.5|C|F}} during the day and {{convert|4.3|C|F}} during the night. In winter, July and August are the coldest months, averaging {{convert|4.8|to|5.0|C|F}} during the day and {{convert|-0.8|C|F}} at night.
Snowfall is possible in all months, though more common in winter. The climate is windier than in most places, with a recorded gust of {{cvt|80|m/s|km/h mph}}.{{cite web
| url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/F1/61998.TXT
| title = Climate Normals for Port Aux Francais 1961–1990
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| accessdate = February 28, 2013}}
The lowest recorded temperature was {{convert|-9.5|C|F}} on 11 August 2014, which beats the old record of {{convert|-9.4|C|F}} set in June 1953.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=61998&decoded=yes&ndays=2&ano=2014&mes=08&day=12&hora=00|title = Partes synops decodificados}}
The highest temperature was {{convert|23.0|C|F}} on 30 January 1959.{{Cite web |url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/cd008A_pdf/0025873d.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=12 August 2014 |archive-date=5 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205104902/http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/cd008A_pdf/0025873d.pdf |url-status=dead }}
{{Weather box
| location = Port-aux-Français, Kerguelen Islands (1991–2020 averages, extremes 1950–present)
| metric first = yes
| single line = yes
| Jan record high C = 25.8
| Feb record high C = 23.6
| Mar record high C = 22.3
| Apr record high C = 23.1
| May record high C = 16.8
| Jun record high C = 14.5
| Jul record high C = 13.2
| Aug record high C = 15.0
| Sep record high C = 15.8
| Oct record high C = 19.1
| Nov record high C = 19.9
| Dec record high C = 22.1
| year record high C = 25.8
| Jan high C = 12.2
| Feb high C = 12.3
| Mar high C = 11.5
| Apr high C = 9.7
| May high C = 6.9
| Jun high C = 5.6
| Jul high C = 5.0
| Aug high C = 5.2
| Sep high C = 5.9
| Oct high C = 7.4
| Nov high C = 9.0
| Dec high C = 10.9
| year high C = 8.5
| Jan mean C = 8.4
| Feb mean C = 8.6
| Mar mean C = 7.9
| Apr mean C = 6.3
| May mean C = 4.0
| Jun mean C = 2.8
| Jul mean C = 2.2
| Aug mean C = 2.4
| Sep mean C = 2.9
| Oct mean C = 4.1
| Nov mean C = 5.4
| Dec mean C = 7.2
| year mean C = 5.2
| Jan low C = 4.7
| Feb low C = 4.9
| Mar low C = 4.2
| Apr low C = 3.0
| May low C = 1.2
| Jun low C = 0.1
| Jul low C = -0.5
| Aug low C = -0.4
| Sep low C = -0.2
| Oct low C = 0.7
| Nov low C = 1.9
| Dec low C = 3.6
| year low C = 1.9
| Jan record low C = -1.5
| Feb record low C = -1.0
| Mar record low C = -2.2
| Apr record low C = -4.4
| May record low C = -7.2
| Jun record low C = -8.5
| Jul record low C = -8.9
| Aug record low C = -9.5
| Sep record low C = -7.6
| Oct record low C = -5.1
| Nov record low C = -4.4
| Dec record low C = -3.3
| year record low C = -9.5
|precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 52.2
| Feb precipitation mm = 44.4
| Mar precipitation mm = 59.0
| Apr precipitation mm = 64.2
| May precipitation mm = 70.4
| Jun precipitation mm = 69.1
| Jul precipitation mm = 69.4
| Aug precipitation mm = 60.7
| Sep precipitation mm = 56.3
| Oct precipitation mm = 46.1
| Nov precipitation mm = 50.7
| Dec precipitation mm = 51.8
| year precipitation mm = 694.3
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 7.7
| Feb precipitation days = 7.1
| Mar precipitation days = 9.0
| Apr precipitation days = 9.5
| May precipitation days = 11.8
| Jun precipitation days = 10.5
| Jul precipitation days = 11.9
| Aug precipitation days = 9.5
| Sep precipitation days = 8.9
| Oct precipitation days = 7.9
| Nov precipitation days = 8.2
| Dec precipitation days = 8.9
| year precipitation days = 111.0
| Jan snow days = 1
| Feb snow days = 0
| Mar snow days = 2
| Apr snow days = 4
| May snow days = 6
| Jun snow days = 10
| Jul snow days = 11
| Aug snow days = 13
| Sep snow days = 12
| Oct snow days = 11
| Nov snow days = 7
| Dec snow days = 2
| year snow days = 79
| Jan humidity =71
| Feb humidity =73
| Mar humidity =74
| Apr humidity =76
| May humidity =78
| Jun humidity =80
| Jul humidity =79
| Aug humidity =80
| Sep humidity =77
| Oct humidity =74
| Nov humidity =75
| Dec humidity =70
| Jan dew point C =3
| Feb dew point C =3
| Mar dew point C =3
| Apr dew point C =2
| May dew point C =0
| Jun dew point C =-1
| Jul dew point C =-1
| Aug dew point C =-1
| Sep dew point C =-1
| Oct dew point C =-1
| Nov dew point C =1
| Dec dew point C =2
| Jan sun = 187.2
| Feb sun = 158.4
| Mar sun = 145.6
| Apr sun = 114.5
| May sun = 95.3
| Jun sun = 74.7
| Jul sun = 85.8
| Aug sun = 106.5
| Sep sun = 128.2
| Oct sun = 153.4
| Nov sun = 166.6
| Dec sun = 182.3
| year sun = 1598.3
| source 1 = Météo France{{cite web
| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180227002449/https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_98404001.pdf
| archivedate = 27 February 2018
| url = https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_98404001.pdf
| title = Kerguelen (984)
| work = Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1991–2020 et records
| publisher = Meteo France
| language = French
| accessdate = 26 February 2018}}
| source 2 = Weatherbase (snow days), Time and Date (dewpoints 2005–2015){{cite web
|url = https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/kergulen/port-aux-francais/climate
|title = Climate & Weather Averages in X, Port-aux-Francais, French Southern Territories
|publisher = Time and Date
|access-date = 9 January 2022}}
| date = November 2011
}}
See also
References
{{sister project auto}}
{{reflist}}
{{Portal bar|Earth sciences|Geography|France}}
{{Antarctic research stations}}
{{Antarctica}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Port-Aux-Francais}}
Category:Geography of the Kerguelen Islands