 Bruce Blackburn worked with the U.S. National Science Foundation at McMurdo Station, in Antarctica. Bruce writes: "Hi Mr. Willis: I am a Communications Technician with Raytheon Polar Services working for the U.S. National Science Foundation in support of science in Antarctica. Right now [November 2001] we are at the height of the summer season, with several hundred scientists in the field and working in the local laboratory. I take care of radios and satellite transmitters and receivers that cover from 2MHz to 20GHz.  Currently the weather has moderated here at McMurdo Station (about 800 miles
north of the South Pole) and some of the snow is melting in the sunshine.
Our high [summer] temperatures will hit +1 Centigrade around Christmas, and then will
start back down to the winter low temperatures of -40. The sun rose in
October and will set again in February, so we don't have much difference
between day and night right now. We are located south of New Zealand so we
observe Auckland time. Right now with daylight savings time we are at UTC
+13 hours so we get into the new day ahead of the rest of the world. Due to the satellite connection I help take care of, we have full time internet service, and even have live television from the USA. It is weird having our football games on Monday morning."  We also received correspondence from Jason Petula, a teacher involved with an Antarctic project. Jason teaches Astronomy and Earth Science at Tunkhannock Area High School in Pennsylvania, and has just arrived in Antarctica. He writes:"Bill, You are my first contact with Canada, so I thought I would share [my experiences] with you. It is just a few minutes before midnight, and as I walked over to the computer laboratory, the sun was still blazing high in the sky. However, the sun's light offered little warmth to the station, for it is still well below zero...not including the wind chill factor. Compared to the South Pole, McMurdo is warm. I would compare it to a cold day in Canada during the winter. The landscape is magnificant! From the higher elevations of the base it is possible to Mt. Erubus belching gasses nearby. The ocean is frozen solid, so much so that that is where the plane that delivered me to this continent landed. It is reported that the ice runway we landed on is 18 feet thick. In seven hours I will, depending on the weather, depart for a flight to the pole. I am anxious to arrive there so I can begin my work. Although I have only been in Antarctica a few hours, I am impressed by her. It is an amazing place. Hopefully, within a day or two, I will be reunited with my luggage. Cheers... ~Jason" We also received a message from Henry Banon, a Communications Technical Officer at Australia's Casey Station, whose year-long stay in Antarctica is nearly finished. Henry writes:  "Hello Worsley School, Alberta Canada.I am writing from the Australian Antarctic station Casey, which is located at 66 deg 17 min South Latitude, 110 deg 32 min East Longitude. I have spent the southern winter here, having arrived in January 2001, and will depart for home in Australia in January 2002. Antarctica is truly an amazing place in many aspects, it's natural unspoiled beauty is awesome, and to be able to see the changes that occur through the full annual cycle is a real bonus. During the summer months the ice and snow partially melts on the coast, forming melt streams and lakes. The sea ice also reduces drastically, and the temperatures can be as high as 1 to 2 deg C. In the winter the sea ice closes in and, at times, for as far as the eye can see it is one solid sheet of ice where the deep blue sea once was. Most of the wildlife abandons the coast, going further north. Antarctica turns into a barren inhospitable frozen desert, with constant blizzards with winds up to 200 km/hr, blowing snow that reduces visibility to a few metres, and temperatures in the minus 70 deg C range, taking wind chill factor into account. And yet it has an exquisiteness all of it's own. During this past winter our station strength was 16 people. After the re-supply ship left in March, we were completely on our own till the next ship in late October; ... ships and planes during the winter are unable to reach us. During that time we lived together as a fully democratic community, making our own rules, laws and routines to make the station function as smoothly and comfortably as possible. We are able to leave station to visit some remote refuge huts and places of interest for recreation, and to see and experience this awesome place first hand; however we must be field survival trained, must always travel with two or more persons, and must maintain radio contact and scheduled radio communication at least once a day. All this is to ensure the safety of the party, as this can be a very unforgiving place should you get into trouble ... extreme cold can kill swiftly when help and facilities are unavailable. The isolation is what probably hits you the most at first, a feeling of helpless loneliness, knowing that no matter what happens here or at home you cannot get back till the next summer. When the next summer finally arrives, a boat load of summer people, mainly scientists, arrives. This year we saw an extra 35 people arrive, bringing the station strength to 51. The first reaction is a strange mixture of welcoming and resentment. It is great to see some new faces and have new conversations, yet it feels like an invasion of the place you have called home for months, with the same 16 faces that you know so well. However, it doesn't take long to get back into the stream of things and life takes on a new fervor, with work and social gatherings lifting the pace till we all go home with a completely new and different perspective on life. Antarctica has surely been much more than just a place to work and visit. Bye for now!" Henry Banon More recently, we were also contacted by Tom Barale, who will soon be going to the Antarctic as a physician's assistant; Tom is interested in corresponding with students about his upcoming adventure. He writes: "I saw your message on the Antarctic message board and would like to email you and your class. I am a physician assistant (like a doctor) and I am scheduled to deploy to either South Pole Station or McMurdo Station sometime between the 2nd and 3rd week in January. I will be the medical practitioner, along with the doctor that is there, and will be taking care of anyone that gets sick or injured. I am told, because there aren't that many people that get sick or injured there, I will have many other jobs, as everyone there does. I'm scheduled to be there from January, through the winter (which begins on March 22 when the sun goes down), and through the end of next October (I am told the sun comes up Oct. 22). I have never been to Antarctica, and am very excited about this. |