Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Exploring Antarctica

Posted by michael on from the don't-forget-your-mittens dept.

dargaud writes "There will soon be some firsts on the high Antarctic plateau: after getting 150km from it last year a Chinese expedition plans on reaching Dome A, the highest part of the Antarctic ice sheet (4200m), farthest to reach and coldest place on Earth, untrodden yet. Then in a few months the French-Italian station of Concordia at Dome C (3200m) will open year-round for its first winter-over, of which I will be part. The location of these ice domes make them great for atmospheric physics, glaciology, astronomy and more. Big projects are getting interested in Antarctica again, just in time for the International Polar Year of 2007, 50 years after the first one."

15 of 195 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The devil called... by Andr0s · · Score: 3, Interesting

    And it seems that guy is not completely alone. Try this site . Almost as bad as moisture farming on Tatooine.

    --
    '...computers in the future may have only 1000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh 1.5 tons...' Popular Mechanics, 03/49'
  2. My favorite thing about Antarctica by daveschroeder · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other state"

    1. Re:My favorite thing about Antarctica by lashi · · Score: 2, Interesting
      >"US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other state"

      The Antarctica isn't a continent, as in there is no land mass. The countries can make the claims on the ice surface but that wouldn't mean anything if the ice starts to melt.

  3. 200 Degree Club by DJDutcher · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I heard that at the south pole they sit in a sauna that reaches 100 degrees farenheit then, when the temperature outside drops below 100 below zero they run outside in just their boots and then quickly back into the sauna. If you've done that you're in the 200 degree club. I'd like to winter over in Antartica. It sounds like fun.

    1. Re:200 Degree Club by Deep+Penguin · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What we do at Pole is called the *300* Degree club - we crank the sauna up to +200F and run outside wearing only shoes at -100F.

      http://penguincentral.com/300Club.html

      (the photo is from my *second* 300 Club run this winter - no photographer out there the first time)

      Before some smart-ass tries to claim that it's impossible to sit in a +200F sauna, remember that a) we are at a nominal 11,000' and b) there's about 0.5% RH, meaning that heat transfer to your body is quite poor. I wouldn't want to think about sitting in a +200F Sauna at sea level.

      -ethan

  4. Thing are looking up down there by nels_tomlinson · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Nearly 100 years ago (1913?), Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922) placed a newpaper ad: "Men Wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success." Nowadays, we can tell them: ``safe return probable''. That's progress.

    I enjoy spending summers in the high arctic; I think I could go for a summer or two in the high antarctic. Anyone need a statistician on the ground there for a summer? Winters are right out, though: I've spent quite enough time in the dark.

    --
    See what I've been reading.
    1. Re:Thing are looking up down there by RealAlaskan · · Score: 2, Interesting
      safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success." Nowadays, we can tell them: ``safe return probable''.

      On second thought, we seem to have lost the ``Honor and recognition in case of success'' part in the intervening 91 years, so maybe it wasn't progress after all?

      --
      See what I've been reading.
    2. Re:Thing are looking up down there by RealAlaskan · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Shackleton didn't lose a single man (although they suffered quite a bit and had to eat their dogs).

      Dogs make much better emergency rations than do skis or snow machines. If Shackelton had made his sleds out of hides and meat frozen into shape (See Vilhjálmur Stefánsson and Peter Freuchen ) instead of wood, they could have made the dogs last a little longer.

      I've been re-reading Endurance . Shackelton was certainly a gifted leader.

      --
      See what I've been reading.
  5. If you want to learn a bit about Antartica... by marktaw.com · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I just finished a great book on what Antartica is really like called Ice Bound by Jerri Nielsen.* After reading it, I felt like I would want to go live there for a while, except I hate the extreme cold. The sense of community is something beautiful, and completely lacking from our modern society, as well as work being your life and your life being your work (and that's a good thing).

    Good luck with your Winter-Over. If you started a blog, would yours be the first from Antartica? If you did, I would consider it a must-read.

    *Yes, I make $0.02 if you order through that link, so sue me.

  6. There are many claims to Antartica by woodsrunner · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Particularily by Argentina and Chile, but I think the French, Russians,Brits and maybe Chinese have some claims. Mostly it's an Argentine and Chilean thing since they are closest.

  7. Re:The devil called... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Back in 1993, when I was a frosh at CWRU, I discovered unix and it's cool internet tools (finger and talk). I found the ip of some VAX box at McMurdo station in Antartica that had open finger and talk ports. I used to randomly chat with whatever tech was logged into the system, got on a first name basis with one of them. He basically said it's really cold and boring there, so he was quite happy to have someone to talk to.

  8. Website run by people on Antarctica by LanMan04 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Check out Big Dead Place, a great website run by some very funny and bitter people that work at McMurdo (largest of the 3 American stations).

    Charity drives like "fuck a winter-over" and the ever-popular column "Ask a Fucked Up Winter-Over" make it worth the visit. See how these people really live.

    Oh, and they love John Carpenter's "The Thing".

    --
    With the first link, the chain is forged.
  9. Already started in 15th century! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Any one care to explain how a 15th century map details the coastline of Antartica (WITHOUT glaciers) when it wasn't mapped out until the 1960?!s

    Piri Re Maps

    --
    There are a million miracles happening everday.
    But the skeptic is the only fool who won't even believe just one.
    Miracles don't have to be grandiose,
    for even a smile to help someone else feel better is one.

  10. Great site! by October_30th · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If I were given a chance of becoming an Antarctican for a while, I'd go for it. I don't even have any molars left...

    --
    The owls are not what they seem
  11. Antarctic lakes may resemble Europa by sfjoe · · Score: 3, Interesting

    11,000 feet under Antarctica is a lake. This really fascinates me as it is one of the most alien environments on Earth. It is so low in nutrients that life would have to find alternative sources of energy.

    http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~mstuding/vostok.ht ml

    --
    It's simple: I demand prosecution for torture.