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Exploring Antarctica
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."
Women have always been a rare and strange breed in Antarctica. Most often there aren't any. During my winter over, women were just some kind of remote and hazy memory. In 2000, a woman did winter over for the first time in Dumont d'Urville, although they have been doing so for a long time in American and Australian stations.
A lot of people seemed to be in a contest for the most original New Year's 2000: from flying the Concorde around the globe to changing the time zone of some Pacific islands... I have to say that ours was quite original: a bunch of scientists, technicians, mechanics all stuck together, getting drunk and dancing with the three available women.
Almost everybody is worthless the first two days: the high altitude combined with the cold and extreme dryness makes for some awful first nights. And hangovers are worse here too: 2 beers are enough to get you hungover in the morning.
So let me get this straight... You are in the coldest area on earth at high altitude with nearly no women and you get hung over from two beers and you return to this place multiple times in your lifetime? This poor guy is one sick fuck but at least his beer stays cold.
Personally, I'll let them see "the new sun" first and I'll stick to the sloppy seconds, at least it's warmed up by then.
Well it's about time we fully explored our own planet rather then jetting off into space.
:)
Space is cool and everything, but I think looking after our planet and exploring the seas etc would be a lot cooler
Explorer: You've got to start charging more than a dollar a bag. We lost two men on this expedition!
Apu: If you can think of a better way to get ice, I'd like to hear it!
"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"
In order to really explore our planet we would have to go down and loot at the oceans too. We know very little about what is really down there and happens down there.
Evolution or ID?
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.
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.
I think that would also get you into the Darwin Award club.
I bet you didn't know that internet porn was a federally funded government project developed just for this purpose?
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Antarctica holds the world's record for coldest temperature: -129F ( recorded in 1983 at the Russian Base Vostok).
Current temp of Vostok is -64 F / -53 C.
"coldest area on earth at high altitude with nearly no women"
Now you've done it, hardocp will soon establish a city of overclocking enthusiasts there.
Let's get one thing perfectly clear, I did not vote for George W Bush, and I do not endorse what he does or says.
"
the ancient gene if they need me to power the outpost.
Jonathanjk.com
I'd love to take a holiday in Antartica over the antartic winter. I'd have loads of time to work on projects, no noisy distractions and I'd finally have an excuse to stay indoors for six months!
I'd need some kind of net connection though. The slashdottings would keep me warm during the cold winter nights.
May the Maths Be with you!
One of the funniest and most interesting sites I know. Site has stories about the people working over there (Antarctica) and other stuff as well.
http://www.bigdeadplace.com/
Australia, Chile, and Argentina claim Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) rights or similar over 200 nm extensions seaward from their continental claims, but like the claims themselves, these zones are not accepted by other countries; 20 of 27 Antarctic consultative nations have made no claims to Antarctic territory (although Russia and the US have reserved the right to do so) and do not recognize the claims of the other nations; also see the Disputes - international entry
Apparantly 20 of the 27 nations have not made any claims. And apparantly those 27 do not recognize claims by other nations. I think your paraphrasing is incorrect.
I mod down so you can mod up. Your welcome.
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.
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.
If all goes well this Austral Summer, IceCube will deploy four "strings," each with 60 light sensors attached, at a depth of about 2 km. Subsequent years will deploy more sensors until a total of 4800 is reached, making the cubic-kilometer sized detector one of the largest on Earth.
IceCube's quarry is primarily neutrinos of extraterrestrial origin. For the uninitiated, neutrinos are extremely elusive subatomic particles produced by high energy interactions. Candidate sources include the supermassive black holes at the heart of so-called "Active Galactic Nuclei", dark matter, and the mysterious Gamma Ray Bursts.
A recent article has more information.
See also a previous Slashdot post about IceCube's predecessor, AMANDA.
Wikipedia has this introduction to neutrinos.
EOT
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.
t ml
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~mstuding/vostok.h
It's simple: I demand prosecution for torture.