Time Zone Changes in Antarctica in 2010
Published 10-Mar-2010
The Australian Antarctic Division is seeing some time changes as the southern hemisphere’s winter period approaches in 2010.
View of Antarctic Division; Mawson station
Casey station already went back to being on UTC+8 on March 5, 2010, while Davis Station changes its time to UTC+7 on March 10, 2010. Mawson station will continue to stay on UTC+5.
Macquarie Island station will not follow Tasmania in ending daylight saving time (DST). Instead, it will remain on Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), which is 11 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), or UTC+11.Many parts of Australia will end DST on Sunday, April 4, 2010.
Casey Station Back on UTC+8
Casey station reverted to its normal time of UTC+8 on Friday, March 5, 2010. The change to UTC+11 is being considered as a regular summer arrangement but no decision has been made yet on this option. On October 18, 2009, the station moved three hours forward from UTC+8, to UTC+11. Casey station is located in the Windmill Islands just outside the Antarctic Circle.
Davis Station Reverts to UTC+7
Davis station will revert to its usual time of UTC+7 at 8pm (20:00) UTC on March 10, 2010. On October 18, 2009, the station moved two hours back from UTC+7 to UTC+5. Davis station is the most southerly Australian Antarctic station.
Macquarie Island Remains on UTC+11
Instead of following Tasmania in ending DST, Macquarie Island station will remain on UTC+11 (AEDT) and will not end DST when other parts of Australia end DST on Sunday, April 4, 2010. In the past, Macquarie Island station would observe the same daylight saving schedule as Hobart, in Tasmania. Tasmania is on Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST), or UTC+10, during the non-daylight saving period and on AEDT, or UTC+11, when it observes DST.
No Time Change for Mawson
Mawson station will remain on UTC+5 throughout the southern hemisphere’s winter period. Mawson station, which is on an outcrop of rock on the coast in Mac Robertson Land at the edge of the Antarctic plateau, moved its time zone one hour back from UTC+6 to UTC+5 on October 18, 2009.
The future status of the Australian Antarctic Division stations’ time zones remains to be under review.