Journal Entry

Today I recorded a 360-degree view video of the center area of McMurdo Station. Please watch the YouTube and you can explore the area for yourself. As you move around you will see names of the different buildings appear. If you listen to the sound of the video you can hear the wind. The weather was actually really nice while recording this video: it was sunny, about 3 degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind was blowing about 9 miles per hour.

Some of the buildings have abbreviations, here is a list to help you better understand which departments are in these buildings: FEMC/IT/QA/NSF Office – Facilities/ Internet Technology/ Quality Assurance

MCC- Movement Control Center

CSEC- Crary Science and Engineering Center

INFOSYS Information systems

MAC OPS McMurdo Operations

EOC Emergency Operation Center

Enjoy the tour!

.be

Comments

Tue, 10/15/2019 - 12:02

Kathleen Oehler

Thanks for posting the video. I've always wondered what an Antarctic research station looked like.

Tue, 10/15/2019 - 20:06

Bridget Ward

I am glad you like the video. I always wondered too what the research station would look like. It is a lot more developed than I thought it would be.

Tue, 10/15/2019 - 13:42

Chris Weitzner

Love the video! Thanks for sharing.

Wed, 10/16/2019 - 04:23

Mike Penn

What is the current population at the station? Is it pretty low since it is so early in the season?

Thu, 10/17/2019 - 08:46

Angelise

Do you get breaks or are you busy the full time you are there?

Thu, 10/17/2019 - 14:25

Bridget Ward

Hi Angelise,
We really don't get breaks, we are usually working on something and its not like a 9-5 sort of job. We do a lot of preparation in the morning for the day, then we stay pretty busy until dinner. After dinner, we take care of more clerical jobs like responding to your messages and paperwork. When we are "finished" for the day it is still light out so that is confusing because it will be 11pm and look like 11am the sun is just in a different spot in the sky.

Thu, 10/17/2019 - 08:49

Yunkun

Nice place! But how you keep the water to be warm so it won't be frozen into ice in there?

Thu, 10/17/2019 - 14:28

Bridget Ward

Hi Yunkun,
My water bottle wears a shell that looks like a parka/jacket so I can have liquid water in the field to drink. Otherwise, I think since there is always water moving in the pipes around the base that it doesn't freeze.

Fri, 10/18/2019 - 06:47

Laura

Ms. Ward. Someday I want to be a scientist like you. My class and I were looking at a map of the Mcmurdo Station and we can see the Volcano. Are you scared that it will blow up? It doesn't seem like a very smart place to put a station. Why is it there? This is from Mr. Penn's class in Glenshaw Pennsylvania.

Tue, 10/22/2019 - 17:26

Bridget Ward

Sorry, it took a while to get back to you, I had to do some questioning on why McMurdo Station is built at the base of a volcano. I am not scared that the Mount Erebus will blow up, there are a lot of monitors measuring its activity. I am more nervous about an earthquake. From what I was told McMurdo station is at the "perfect" location: 1. It is built on actual land, a lot of stations are built on glaciers, for example, South Pole station and it is actually moving every year with the glacier. 2. It is the southernmost sailing port, meaning cargo ships can get in and out when the sea ice melts every year. 3. It is close to everything, for my team working on the sea ice shelf and other experiment locations for other teams and a short helicopter ride to other bases and the dry valleys.

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