Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 12/15/2011 - 07:22
Forums
Space Weather Monitoring on the Antarctic Plateau

A'lexus: What is the coldest measured temperature ever at the South Pole?

Avery: What has been the most beautiful thing that you have seen?

Selena: Have you been able to make a snowman?

Ashley: Has living at the south pole impacted any of your daily routines? If so, how?

David: How are you able to keep water from freezing so you can still have something to drink?

Lauren: What was the earliest recorded attempts at finding the south pole or just exploring Antarctica?

Kaleb: What do you do about using the bathroom? How can you protect the environment in the South Pole with people living there and all the waste we create?

Robert: Can you tell the penguins I say Hi? They know me.

We all miss you and hope you are having a great time!!

Thu, 12/15/2011 - 12:46

Michelle Brown

Hello Period 4!
Thanks for all the questions!
A'lexus: The coldest it has been here is -82.8 degrees Celsius (-116 degrees Fahrenheit!)
Avery: There are so many beautiful things here, but there are two things that come to mind instantly. The first was being in the ob tube and watching the hundreds of pteropods swimming by. See the video in my journal to see what I mean: ( http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/human-impacts-in-antarctica-2011/jo...). The other is simply looking out and seeing an expanse of white. It is so surreal and beautiful to see.
Selena: I haven't tried to make a snowman, but the snow is so dry here at the pole, that I think it would be hard. The snow at McMurdo has more moisture in it, but I never tried. We did carve bricks out of the snow to make snow walls, and you can carve the snow here, but I don't think it would roll up well!
Ashley: Great question, and the answer is YES! I was just telling my family about how hard it is to get used to living at the pole where I have much less control over how my day goes than back in the states. (I still am so happy to be here though!). Here are some ways life is different for me here. First of all, to use the bathroom or brush my teeth, wash up, etc., I have to walk to another building. That means I have to put on a bunch of layers and be out in the cold! Also, the dry temperature causes me to have to constantly drink water and moisturize. My lips have been chapped since I got here! The bigger issue is the internet. My job, aside from helping my research team, is to post journals. However, I can only use the internet when the satellites are up, This means that I have to go by their schedule and not my own. This can get frustrating! The last thing to get used to is that plans change every day. When I first arrived here, we were supposed to leave Wednesday, the plane however got delayed, and it was moved to Friday. Bad weather caused Friday's plans to change and now we should leave on Monday, but that could change as well!
David: If I were to leave water outside, then it would definitely freeze. Luckily it is heated here, so we leave it inside. When I am outside for a long time, I keep water in the inside pocket of my big red jacket. This keeps it from freezing (although it does get cold!). When I'm at the AGO, the AGO building has a heater which we can use to warm up the room and therefore the water. Even the tents get warm since the sun's radiation heats them up!
Lauren: Ah, you've hit on one of my favorite topics here--Antarctic exploration! I've written a few journals about this since I've become fascinated with the thought of getting here by foot rather than plane. The first attempts were made in the early 20th Century (1900s). Scott tried in 1902, but didn't make it that far. Shackleton tried in 1908, got 100 miles from the pole, but then had to turn back to save his crew (he ran out of food), two teams, Amundson and Scott, both tried again in 1911. Amundson reached the pole first on December 14th (hence all the celebrations here a few days ago), Scott arrived 5 weeks later and him and his men died trying to return to safety back at the coast. I have been reading some amazing books about these expeditions: "Shackleton's Endurance" and "The Worst Journey in the World" (about Scott). You should check them out!
Kaleb: There are bathrooms here at the South Pole. When I'm at the AGO site, we will have a tent that is dedicated to be a restroom (i.e., a seat with a bucket over it, essentially), and we will bring the waste back with us to dispose of properly. I need to check, but I believe the South Pole ships all of the waste back. They recycle everything, and the only waste I know of is waste water which is deposited away from the station in pits.
Robert: Hi Robert! Yes, I will tell them you say hi! (Actually, I will show you all a great website where we can observe penguins day by day, name them, and send penguin postcards to a woman who works with them extensively! Her name is Jean Pennycook!)
Although I'm having a great time here, I can't wait to see you all soon!
Sincerely,
Ms. Brown