Research stations are facilities where scientific investigation, collection, analysis and experimentation occurs. A research station is a facility that is built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. There are also many types of research stations including: biological field stations, space stations etc. Research station sites might include remote areas of the world, oceans, as well as outer space, such as the International Space Station. Biological research stations developed during a time of European colonization and imperialism where naturalists were employed to conduct observations on fauna and flora. Today, the discipline is represented by a number of organizations which span across multiple continents. Some examples include: the Organization of Biological Field Stations and the Organization for Tropical Studies. Space stations were also developed over a number of decades through scientific analysis and writing, with the first design aspects of early space stations being introduced by Herman Potocnik in 1928. Since then, the construction and launch of space stations have been both national and international, collaborative efforts which have allowed different design philosophies to form key space stations such as the International Space Station (ISS). Similarly, stations in Antarctica are built to ensure that they are well insulated against the sub-zero temperatures of the exterior landscape with many redevelopments being required over the years to overcome issues associated with snowdrifts, accessibility and rusting.
Types
Some research stations are located in the Arctic, such as the Northeast Science Station, McGill Arctic Research Station and Himadri Station. Some stations in the Arctic are staffed drifting ice stations, built on the ice of the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean. Many nations also have research stations located in Antarctica; Showa Station, Halley and Troll are examples. There are also various research stations doing field ecological research such as the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Comoé National Park Research Station in the Savannas of North-eastern Côte d'Ivoire or the Gombe Research Station in Tanzania, where famous chimpanzee research was conducted by Jane Goodall.
Biological research stations Biological field stations or ecological research stations are facilities where research can be conducted into different aspects of the environmental and biological life. It covers a wide range of field stations including: marine research stations, tropical research stations etc. During the 18th and early 19th century, field stations were not yet formally established, and European naturalists and biologists would conduct their research through imperial scientific explorations. This time period occurred within the time of imperialism and colonial expansion which began from the mid-18th century, which was where European countries, which undergoing industrialization, were in the process of seeking to invade and conqueror territories around the world. Naturalists were often enlisted on imperial campaigns to "undiscovered" territories to assist in the cataloging and mapping of foreign specimens. For example, in 1813, Charles Darwin was appointed the naturalist on the Royal Navy ship, HMS Beagle, and his diary journals from that voyage contributed significantly to his later scientific theories on evolution and natural selection. Similarly, Joseph Banks was also an English naturalist who was appointed the botanist of imperial collaboration between the Royal Navy Society scientific expedition in 1768 on HMS Endeavour to the South Pacific which was heralded as the discovery of Australia or Terra Nullius as it was known at the time.
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