Southernmost settlements
There are many research stations in Antarctica, both permanent and summer only. Many of the stations are staffed all year. McMurdo Station is the largest with an average population of 1200.
Schirmacher Oasis
After the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc, parts of the Schirmacher Oasis counted among the heaviest polluted regions in Antarctica. Polar explorers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven and from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in Saint Petersburg disposed of 1016 tons of scrap metal and refuse from the former GDR polar station and the Russian Novolazarevskaya Station.