Ice covers 98% of Antarctica’s surface, with a thickness of up to three miles. The coldest place on Earth, Vostok Station, has measured a temperature of -128.6oF. Antarctica is a polar desert, with less than 2 inches of precipitation per year in the interior. Strong katabatic winds can blow across some regions.
Dr. Beck, how did you pack for these conditions, and how did you travel to Antarctica?
A: “I went to Antarctica as part of the ANtarctic Search for METeorites (ANSMET) program, which is funded by various government agencies and grants. As such, the clothing and supplies are provided once you reach Antarctica, so packing clothes is not as big a deal as you might expect. The few things I did pack that were useful were:
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snowmobile pants – these have knee pads; nice to have when one spends lots of time on their knees collecting meteorites
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snow goggles with built-in camera – the videos it captured of meteorite collection have proven very useful as a teaching tool!
Travel to and from the continent is handled by the US Government. We flew commercial to New Zealand, then flew to Antarctica from Christchurch, NZ, on a big military air transport. It was loaded with supplies, scientists, and support staff headed to McMurdo Station.”
What was it like to live at McMurdo Station? How long were you there?
A: “The ANSMET team only spent a week or so at McMurdo on the front end and back end of the expedition.
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If I blindfolded you and put you on a plane to wake up in McMurdo, you would probably think you were in Canada or Alaska – it is not too bad at McMurdo in the Antarctic summer.
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The temps hover around freezing; there is a whole little city at the station, complete with a church, ATM, pub, and cafeteria.
After the week at McMurdo, we flew out to a field site located at Larkman Nunatak. Here conditions were different – no life or civilization for miles, no running water, no nothing. This was our home for the next six weeks.”
How did you deal with the continuous sunlight during the summer?
A: “Since it is the Antarctic summer, it is light 24/7. On the upside, it provides solar energy for electronics, so that is a plus (even without internet, having movies, games, and books on electronic devices helps pass the time). On the downside, one does need to wear a sleep mask to get some zzzs!”
How difficult was it to work outside in the polar conditions?
A: “We only collected meteorites when conditions were good, not overcast, and no snowstorms. When the sky is very cloudy, it can be difficult to spot potential crevasses in the ice, so we stayed in the tents to be safe. When we went out to collect meteorites, it wasn’t that cold (sunny, temps from about 10 to -10 F). I would say the only problematic thing about the conditions for me was my fingers - I preferred gloves, but I had to switch to mittens.”
There are strict rules about recycling and waste removal in Antarctica. How did you minimize your impact on the natural environment?
A: “All food and other waste were put in a bucket to be removed. We even used a bucket for a bathroom, which got removed from the field. The only thing we left in the field were the flags we planted when we found each meteorite. These marked the GPS coordinates of the recovered meteorite in case the data got corrupted and someone needed to relog the information.”
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