[Welcome to Scott Base] Scott Base is the name of the Kiwi research station in Antarctica. It is on the southern tip of Ross Island on the Hut Point Peninsula which points South towards the Antarctic continent. Just 3km from the American station of McMurdo, the two bases are connected by a winding gravel road.
[Mount Erebus with a tiny plume of smoke right at the top]
Ross Islands main geographic feature is Mount Erebus. Mount Erebus, along with Mount Terror and Mount Terra Nova are active volcanoes that are being studied all the time. But there are all sorts of other things to be studied here too. Like the sea ice, the fish, the birds, the weather and yes, even the scientists themselves.
After we arrived at Scott Base and had settled in I took some time to explore. The next few pictures were taken around the base and give you an idea of where I’ll be living for the next three weeks. What would be your favourite place to spend time?
[Lockers to store our outdoor gear in]
[The entire station is connected together with corridors, so there's no need to go outside in the cold]
[My bed - I share my room with two ther scientists]
[There are lots and lots of corridors]
[Just outside the mess - or dining hall - is a wall showing all the science projects going on with Antarctica New Zealand this summer]
[The mess hall, we have great cooks who make us delicious food. This morning we had waffles and bacon and eggs and hashbrowns and . . .]
[Because the entire station is connect together can you think of the biggest danger? - It's fire, there are fire hoses and extinguishers everywhere]
[Some of the corridors are more decorated than others. Also notice the metal poles along the walls, because it is so dry here there is a lot of static electricity built up and you have to touch metal every once in a while to discharge any excess - lots of sparks]
[This is Hatherton Lab where everyone can use the computers - with dial up speed internet - and we have our office]
[Another thing about Antarctica is having fun. We have lots of dress up parties and there are all sorts of costumes to choose from]
[Many scientists go out into the field to do their research, but some just do day trips from Scott Base. They have to drive vehicles that allow them to drive on snow. This is a Pisten Bully, it is a very bumpy ride]
[The Pisten Bully is driving out on the sea ice to go ice fishing to collect samples for some scientists. You can see a long way here because it is so flat]
[Just next door to Scott Base is McMurdo, the American Station. We share an airfield which is what you can see down on the ice. This is where we landed when we arrived]
[This is McMurdo. Can you guess what the big, round white tanks are for? They hold all the fuel for both McMurdo and Scott Base for the whole year because it can only be carried in once a year when the sea ice is out enough for a containter ship to come in]
[At the top of Observation Hill is a cross dedicated to Captain Scott and the four men who died with him on their return frmo the South pole in 1912. It is a lovely hike up to here and a great view out over the sea ice and towards the continent]
[Welcome to Scott Base] 
Great to see your new place. Can you watch television there? Lots of snow here now, more every day.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Dad
interesting to see antarctica from your perspective, erin. not so much "gee whiz" as most other coverage. i liked the candid shots inside the base. do the volcanoes ever erupt? as in lava and ash? it looks like the base is pretty close if they did.
ReplyDeletethanks for taking the time to blog for us northerners.
We have a limited television range, but there's a great selection of movies here. The system is to write down what movie you're watching and when so people can join you if they're interested.
ReplyDeleteAs for Mt. Erebus. It is a polygenetic stratovolcanoe, which means it is a shield volcanoe on the bottom and a stratocone on the top. It is one of five volcanoes in the world to have a lava lake at the top and is constantly steaming (which you can see in the picture). The scientists who are studying it have a base right near the top of the volcanoe and are constantly monitoring it. If it were to erupt, it would mostly constitute a lava flow down the sides, which is part of what formed Ross Island in the past. However Mount Erebus hasn't had a big eruption for a long, long time. You can look up the Mount Erebus Volcanoe Observatory to learn more, including a video of the lava lake on top.
Nå blir det vel 3 kors til ,til de 2 nordmennene og 1 sørafrikaner :'(
ReplyDelete