and electricity workshop; general equipment and spare parts warehouses; and foodstuff deposits (also called GUM). The all-year capable airstrip is located on a glacier southwest of the base. The one-bed infirmary is , attended by a doctor and a nurse. It has x-ray and odontological facilities. Dug in the nearby ice, Belgrano II's Catholic Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows is the world's southernmost Christian church—in fact, it's the southernmost worship place of any religion. The general tasks of the base personnel are primarily of scientific research, survey and exploration, also providing support for foreign scientific efforts. Other common duties are shelter maintenance, search and rescue, medical, communications and weather forecast support to expeditions, bases, ships and aircraft, both local and foreign. Scientific activity The following research programs are run at LABEL: Meteorology forecast Atmospheric ozone research with high altitude probes and a Brewer spectrophotometer from the World Meteorological Organization, a joint program with Italy; and EVA IFAR spectrophotometer, a joint program with INTA in Spain Astrolabel, through optical telescope, an agreement with the Astronomical Observatory of Córdoba) Solar radiation and energy resources study through the local satellite station transmitting data in real time; since February 1998 a geodetic GPS receiver and seismological recording station have been installed through a joint program with the Alfred Wegener Institute of Germany; Seismography, operating the world's southernmost seismograph over firm rock Analysis of Earth's magnetic field variations Ionospheric and aurorae sounding research in cooperation with Italy Riometry, cosmic noise analysis Bird monitoring and nesting patterns Geodesy, through GPS and a Doris beacon Although maintained by the Argentine Armed Forces, as all Argentine bases on Antarctica, it is operated by the civilian agency Argentine Antarctic Institute. , the base has a 19 men crew two of whom are Air Force meteorologists, three are Argentine National Antarctic Directorate civilian researchers and the rest is Argentine Army personnel in charge of operating the base. Climate The Belgrano II base has a coastal-influenced ice cap climate. The area is a passage of weather fronts directed towards the north: although they do not precipitate, they do produce strong winds exceeding which radically increase the chill factor. Mean monthly temperatures range from in July, the coldest month to in January, the warmest month. During summer, the average high is while the average low is . In winter, the average high and low are and respectively. During the polar