Scientist at Work Blog: Roughing It, Antarctic Style

Michael Becker, a doctoral student at McGill University, was a scientific diver on an expedition to Lake Untersee, Antarctica.

One of the common misconceptions about field work is that working and living in the polar regions has to be incredibly harsh and unforgiving. Personal expectation and flexibility, as well as preparedness and training, make the difference between living in a comfortable camp or a miserable death trap.

The camp we?re staying in is, by any standard, a very comfortable place to spend a month. We have ample water, power generators, and enough food for six months. Someone who needs a daily shower and a flush toilet won?t find it too accommodating, but if you approach camp living with the optimistic sense that it is better than living in an ice-cave, everything will seem rosy.

We are located on a little sand and gravel peninsula that sticks out into the center of Lake Untersee. The rolling moraine and slope on the peninsula protect the tents that we have built in the low-lying areas. We did this to try and use the natural features around us as wind blocks ? the storms here are fierce and winds can reach up to 110 m.p.h.

For sleeping, we set up three Scott-style tents as personal quarters ? tents quite similar in shape and style to those used in the early ages of Antarctic exploration. We also have three large dome tents, one each for cooking, a science lab, and for dive gear. Tents have to be meticulously constructed and maintained in case of strong winds. All the guy lines are tightened regularly and every bit of the outside flies is weighted down with rocks. Even the inside of the tents must be weighted down with rocks so that strong winds don?t come under the tent and flip it. In fierce storms, people have been inside their tents as they collapsed and blew away.

None of the sleeping tents are heated, but the science, dive, and cook tents are heated by small propane space heaters. Going to sleep can be a bit of a bear, as on cold ?nights? (the sun never sets during the summer) the inside of the tent might be 0 or 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Getting into a frigid sleeping bag is tiresome, so I usually take a Nalgene bottle filled with boiling water and throw it (well-sealed) into my sleeping bag to make a nice heated bed. But while nights are cold, mornings can be blazingly hot.

Our camp is surrounded by a semi-circle of large mountains. These mountains block direct sunlight in the evenings, but around 5 a.m. the sun rounds the corner and starts roasting everything. That 5 degree evening in the tent turns into a 55 degree morning very quickly, so much so that I usually go to sleep bundled like a mummy and wake up sweating.

As for power, we have several portable generators for science equipment, charging hand radios, and powering this laptop I am writing on now. I have even dragged an extension cable into my tent for power. Pretty cushy. But while we have power, we have reduced communication ? a satellite phone limited to call times of two minutes before the signal is lost. It is enough to call home to let everyone know we are still alive.

Probably the biggest concern of running a camp is water. Not the lack of it, as we drill a hole in the lake for drinking water, but rather the production of excess waste water. One of the environmental protocols for working in the Antarctic is to leave as minimal an impact as possible, and this means bringing all waste water back to base. This means dishwater, rinsing water, and urine.

For cooking and cleaning, we usually generate zero waste. We cook and eat dehydrated food straight from the bag to limit dirty dishes, and washing our forks and plates is limited to a few wipes of a paper towel. Our biggest luxury would have been an entire case of Cadbury chocolate bars, but this mysteriously disappeared from the flight ? a crime punishable by death if we ever find out who nipped them. In all, our daily meals make zero waste water ? pretty impressive for five people.

Keeping ourselves clean is a Spartan affair: a pack of handwipes and some disinfectant alcohol. But if done on a daily basis these alcohol showers allow you to extend wearing the same set of clothing for one or two weeks.

We have everything to meet basic needs and plenty more. I find it refreshing to let my body adjust to being outdoors, and feeling and living with the weather rather than being hermetically sealed in my apartment in the city. I like camp living ? the pace, the lack of Internet, and the lack of communication. Days here feel long and rewarding and I am always surprised at how much time there is in 24 hours. And living in camp is a good reminder of just how efficiently we can live. For a gallon or two of gas a day and a bit of propane, five people can live with heat, power, and electricity and produce minimal waste*. It makes you aware of how much is effortlessly consumed at home.

Oh and lastly, the bathroom. Everyone always asks, so here goes: It is a bucket with garbage bags that you change when full. It creates such a distinctive, thick and fermented smell that you could cut it with a knife. So we gave it its own tent and keep it at a distance. The view?s good though.

*

Follow Michael on Twitter: @Michael__Becker or on his blog, ?The Dry Valleys.?

Source: http://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/roughing-it-antarctic-style/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Jaimie Alexander Army Navy Game john lennon leann rimes pearl harbor Jacintha Saldanha Grammy nominations 2013