What’s It Like To Live and Work In Antarctica?

March 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment

There is one commonality between Dallas, Texas and the South Pole; both get to see 100 degree temperatures in July. But that will be 100 degrees below zero at the South Pole. This is cold enough to freeze your blood in a very, very short time.

Currently, dozens of people spend half a year down there at the time, having to contend with isolation, little to no sunlight, and nothing else to do. They are meant to keep the American polar base in good condition, as well as observe and record scientific data. Thankfully, their jobs are becoming easier thanks to modern technology.

Astronomers in North America can remotely operate the telescope in the observatories of the South Pole. This was the first time any telescope at the South Pole had been controlled from a location so far away. Eventually, it is hoped by astronomers that it will become unnecessary for people to have to man the South Pole stations at all, operating everything remotely instead.

The crew that stays at the South Pole must find ways to handle the coldest, driest, and windiest climates on Earth. Its elevation is the highest of the continents, making breathing sometimes difficult. The high elevations make it impossible for anything but cold-adapted plants and animals to survive. Some common plants and animals include penguins, seals, and various forms of algae and tundra vegetation.

The crew that stays the long six months of winter in Antarctica are called “winter-over.” The things that keep this team going are the wide range of videos, a small exercise room, computers, a pool table, wonderful food, and traditions. Winter-over are reluctant to discuss what occurs between when the station closes in February and when the military plane returns them to civilization in October.

With the huge expansions of the research program at the South Pole there have been continuous power shortages. The computers, telescopes, lasers and other electrical powered equipment use more energy than the station’s three oil-burning generators are able to produce. This causes winter-over to have to deal with insufficient power, in conjunction with cramped quarters and cold buildings.

However, over the years many traditions have been introduced to the program to help pass the time. If there’s a day in which the outside temperature is more than 100 degrees below zero, you can join the “300 Club.” The sauna is brought up to over 200 degrees. Winter-over enter the sauna, get hot, then run out into the cold, entering soon after, experiencing a 300 degree change in temperature.

They also look forward to the annual airdrop. Every June a delivery of food, mail, and supplies are dropped by a U.S. Air National Guard military transport plane. The winter-over will operate heavy equipment to retrieve the supplies and bring them into the station. This is the closest winter-over are able to come to any physical contact with the world outside the South Pole.

They are not able to see a tree or travel more than a mile from the pole throughout their stay. Each crew member gets a one week vacation to the United States’ main Antarctic base, McMurdo Station. While here, the winter-over are able to camp out in the 25-degree climate, bake in the sun, and relax in t-shirts and jeans.

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What’s It Like To Live and Work In Antarctica?

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