The research station and the airstrip; the red part is the airstrip.
Kamakmal Research Station is a permanent, year-round Bloxartica research base owned jointly by Republic of Bloxjiado and Robloxia. It is located on the Polar County of Bloxjiado. It is the largest base on the continent, holding over 1,200 personnel. It is named for Bazomja Kamakmal. During Bloxartic Night, which occurs during winter when the sun does not appear, the population is around 300. A variety of research takes place on the base, and since the Massagaf Conference, a population of twenty non-researcher civilians have resided on base, including seven children, with three of them being teenagers.
Background
The station was first established by a team of scientists who departed from Massagaf by airplane, on 30 April 1961, and landed near where the base currently is on the 1st of May, at around 4:20 AM. The base was formally established on November 5th, 1961. Until 1964, the base consisted of only four residential buildings for the researchers, and six temporary research structures. After 1964, work begun on building more permanent structures and housing, and the construction of a utility system.
Transportation
Air
See also: Kamakmal Base Airstrip
The base has a 6,302 foot long runway, which can accommodate aircraft with rubber tires (only during the winter season) and aircraft with skis (all year). It was constructed in 1965, as landing zones were not permanent facilities. The airstrip is marked by lighting and has a compacted colored snow surface. Typically, flights transport researchers and supplies every three days, but flights can arrive at any time. It is owned and operated by the BJF. The airbase also has a VIP terminal.
Helicopter
There is one helipad near Dome Rock, which is used for expedition activities and research. It opened in 1987.
Rail
Uniquely, Kamakmal Station is the only research station in Bloxartica with a railway line. In 1974, a project to determine if railways could be built in polar regions resulted in a 80 metre (262 foot) long test track. The trains had special rubber wheels instead of steel wheels, and the test lasted for around a year until the test track was dismantled. However, due to the successful results of the test, a new 3 mile railway line was constructed from the piers to the logistics center, which is a facility for receiving, sorting and distributing supplies sent to the base. The track is raised higher than normal (to prevent against freezing), and uses automatic warming to melt snow by reusing the waste heat from the generator system (which is also used for warming buildings). It opened in 1981, and a branch to the radar station was opened in 1985. Around 2.3 miles of the total 3.4 mile route is in tunnels for climate control purposes, and a small portion is exposed to the elements.
Road
There are around 47 different vehicles used for transporting supplies and scientists around the station, all of them being treaded vehicles. A 20 seat modified minibus is the main vehicle for transporting researchers, while the civilians on site and the temporary workers.
Utilities
Almost all utilities are built above ground, in utility “corridors”, which have insulation to prevent freezing. Because the ground is icy and harder to dig, there is a wide network of these structures serving all the buildings on the site. Prior to 1973, each individual building had its own gas furnace, but in 1973, a heating plant was constructed, with three different boilers providing heat to all of the buildings onsite.
Electricity was originally provided by portable generators, but after the base was made permanent, a generator station running on natural gas was constructed with two units. In 1983, a third and fourth unit were added. Water supply onsite is sourced from melting ice and purifying the water, where it is then distributed in insulated pipes.
Non-Researchers
There are 20 semi-permanent non-researchers who live on the base, who are virtually all members of either the Robloxian or Bloxji armed forces. There is also another 90 people who work at the offshore drilling site, who are all temporary workers.