Most nights we work in the lab (really!) but tonight was a special night. The first American Night at Scott Base. Scott Base is the New Zealand base in Antarctica, and slang for New Zealanders is "kiwis". The base really is lime-green.
Here I am at Scott Base!
"Scott Base is located at Pram Point on Ross Island (latitude South 77° 51´ East 166° 46´), 838 miles (1353k) from the South Pole and one mile from McMurdo Station (US). It is managed by the New Zealand Antarctic Institute, Antarctica New Zealand."
View from Scott Base, looking out over the Ross Ice Shelf
Even the fuel tanks at Scott Base are lime green!
"Scott Base was constructed for New Zealand's participation in the International Geophysical Year and Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition and was officially opened on January 20, 1957. Although designed for a life of only a few years, the value of Antarctic research was soon recognized and a base rebuilding program began in 1976. Today only one building of the original Scott Base remains, the TAE hut, which contains material recording New Zealand's involvement in Antarctica since 1957."
Scott Base and McMurdo Station were opened the same year!
"Scott Base is a clean and attractive collection of lime green buildings, which accommodates 10 winter-overs and up to 80 people in the summer. Most of the buildings are linked by all weather corridors. Compared to McMurdo Station (US), 1 mile away, Scott base looks trim and tidy."
The dorm rooms are trim and tidy too!
It is true that McMurdo is sprawling and not very attractive, and that Scott Base is very neat looking with all the buildings the same color and design. McMurdo is much larger and has been added to continuously since 1957, instead of undergoing one major remodel. In both cases, all the materials to build these bases have had to travel huge distances and the buildings were constructed in this cold and windy climate.
For both bases, the past 50 years of construction and maintenance has been done so science can happen in Antarctica.