Dear killerwhale9-ga;
Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. It
appears that both land and sea are common modes of transportation to
and from the artic peninsula. Researchers enroute to McMurdo station
either ship in or fly in via helicopter or airplane, usually from
Williams Field (aka Willy Field , to the locals) some 16 km from
McMurdo on the Ross Ice Shelf, or Scott Base, the New Zealand station
two miles East. From here some researchers often fly on in to McMurdo
on helicopter hops or ride the distance in ?snow cats? or in similar
artic vehicles. Believe it or not, outside the blizzard season the
weather is occasionally good enough to transport people directly to
McMurdo from Williams Field or Scott Base via conventional shuttle
bus.
The US Coast Guard also maintains two polar icebreakers that service
the area called ?The Polar Star? and her sister ship, ?The Polar Sea?
which sometimes transports official US personnel into the area from
various regions.
CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICAL RESEARCH IN ANTARCTICA
?Virtual Tour - McMurdo Station, Antarctica?
http://astro.uchicago.edu/cara/vtour/mcmurdo/
As for protocol, here is what one can expect when arriving by land in
relatively good weather:
?Most of the people that visit McMurdo station arrive by air. Air
service is provided by the US Air National Guard and the Royal New
Zealand Air Force. The US Air National Guard flies several types of
noisy crowded transport planes from Christchurch New Zealand to one of
three runways. The flights, while short on comfort, will help one
appreciate the luxury of flying coach class. Bag lunches are served on
the flight and are actually worth eating. The seasoned traveler will
drink only half the water provided, as the Antarctic weather is fickle
and the flight may have to turn back. In these cases a flying time of
10-15 hours is not unusual.?
?From the runway, a shuttle bus will take you to McMurdo Station. The
ice road will offer most visitors their first view of town, and Ross
Island. Immediately noticeable will be the imposing bulk of Mount
Erebus. Mount Erebus is the world's southernmost active volcano. To
the east of Mount Erebus is Mount Terror, a slightly smaller extinct
volcano with a much cooler name.
Assuming the shuttle bus does not get stuck where the ice road
transitions to the volcanic rock of Ross Island, the visitor will be
deposited, sans luggage, in front of building 155. Luggage will show
up two to three hours later in the 'MCC' - Movement Control Center. An
orientation briefing in building 155 is usually the next item on the
agenda.?
BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A362134
(Much more on this can be learned from the article)
I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher
INFORMATION SOURCES
Defined above
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
Antarctica
Artic
McMurdo Station
Scott Base
Williams Field
Researchers |
Request for Answer Clarification by
killerwhale9-ga
on
24 May 2006 05:43 PDT
Dear tutuzdad-ga,
Thank you very much for your very informative answer, full of little
interesting details about the life there. I would just request
practical details about transportation of researchers...
- I understand that people most generally reach McMurdo Station via
planes, but sometimes do embark on icebreakers. I think the seas are
quite rough in the area, so is there a pratical reason why people
would cross on ships sometimes, or do they definitely take planes
whenever possible and ship transportation generally falls out of use?
- About reaching the Antarctic peninsula (and possibly Palmer Station,
for instance, another US base): I see there is no airstrip, so
crossing via boat is the only way to go there. Is this the the area
serviced by the Polar Star and the Polar Sea? And I understand the
ships leave from Chile - where from exactly? Which town?
With my many thanks,
KillerWhale9
|
Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
24 May 2006 07:09 PDT
>>>I understand that people most generally reach McMurdo Station via
planes, but sometimes do embark on icebreakers. I think the seas are
quite rough in the area, so is there a practical reason why people
would cross on ships sometimes, or do they definitely take planes
whenever possible and ship transportation generally falls out of
use?<<<
Simply put, most people arrive by air because the journey by sea is
much longer (and yes, rougher and perhaps more perilous). The fact is
that there are enough good airstrips nearby to allow aircraft to
easily fly into the area so transport by ship is somewhat antiquated
and much less desirable unless one must accompany cargo or equipment.
Having said that the journey by sea frequently involves the escort of
substantial or sensitive cargo or involves actual maritime studies
that necessitates time at sea.
CRUISING ON THE POLAR SEA
http://topweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/antarctica_imagegal/ice_cutter.html
You will find a number of expeditions listed here and some brief
explanations about the methods used to reach point A from point B.
SOUTH POLE NEWS
http://www.southpolestation.com/news/news.html
From the landing strips researchers frequently drive in, weather
permitting. Here you will see a variety of vehicles that enable this
journey including a Terra Bus, a specially designed Ford Van and a
15-ton utility vehicle called a Delta that has six 850 lbs tires.
TRANSPORT AT MCMURDO
http://www.coolantarctica.com/Community/mcmurdo/transport_at_mcmurdo.htm
THE ARTIC SUN
http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/oldissues2000-2001/2000_1105/truckin.html
Other utility vehicles include the The Pisten Bully, Haaglund, Nodwell
and the Tiger just to name a few:
TIGER IN ANTARCTICA
http://tiger.gsfc.nasa.gov/vehicles.html
>>>About reaching the Antarctic Peninsula (and possibly Palmer
Station, for instance, another US base): I see there is no airstrip,
so crossing via boat is the only way to go there. Is this the area
serviced by the Polar Star and the Polar Sea?<<<
The Polar Sea and Polar Star manage the area from the McMurdo Sound to
as far south as Hut Point. Their main purpose is to escort the supply
ship American Tern and the fuel tanker MV Richard G Matthiesen into
McMurdo to prepare the station for the long austral winter. In the
absence of the Polar Sea or the Polar Star for routine maintenance,
the U.S. Coast Guard vessel Healy, which has a homeport in Seattle,
Washington, typically works the McMurdo Sound.
US NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/03/pr0307.htm
>>>And I understand the ships leave from Chile - where from exactly? Which town?<<<
One of the primary origins of voyages from Chile to McMurdo Station
appears to be Punta Arenas, Chile.
NOAA CATALOG OF IMAGES
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/corps/crind29.htm
NATHANIEL B. PALMER SHIPBOARD ADCP DATA
http://currents.soest.hawaii.edu/nbpalmer/
THE ARCTIC SUN
http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/oldissues2003-2004/Sun020104/gatewayCities.htm
Regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
killerwhale9-ga
on
26 May 2006 00:43 PDT
Thank you very much for all these precisions and the info about the
specific vehicles used, that is very interesting. I'd like to ask
precisely one last clarification: how do people reach Palmer base and
the Antarctic peninsula, which is not in the same situation of McMurdo
(no airstrip) and some 2000 km away (as far as I know)? By icebreaker?
Do they also leave from Punta Arenas?
With my thanks
Killerwhale9
PS: Of course, I'll be adding a tip to reflect the additional research
this clarification requires.
|
Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
26 May 2006 07:11 PDT
According to this Q&A ?ISLAND TO ICE: ASK A QUESTION OF OUR ANTARCTIC
RESEARCHER? the only way to access Palmer Station is by ship via
Chile:
QUESTION: ?Have you been to Palmer base yet? If you haven't do you plan to??
ANSWER: ?We haven't been to Palmer base yet and do not plan too. We
do not have any research around there and it is very far away. There
is also no landing strip there. To go there you usually travel by ship
from Chile.?
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MARINE SCIENCE INSTITUTE
http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/staff/dunton/gk12/islandtoice/Ask.htm
This 1998 Diary and other sources indicates that the trip does in fact
typically originate in Puenta Arenas, Chile following a path out of
the Straight of Magellan and around the southern most point of South
America, into the Drake Passage and directly on to Palmer Station.
Palmer Station Site Visit Diary
Day 1: March 26, 1998
http://www-star.stanford.edu/~vlf/Antarctica/Palmer/tripreports/diary98/day1/day1.html
Travel map:
http://www-star.stanford.edu/~vlf/Antarctica/Palmer/tripreports/diary98/day5/day5.html
?Most researchers travel to the station from Punta Arenas, Chile
across the Drake Passage aboard the research vessels Laurence M. Gould
and Nathaniel B. Palmer, operated by the National Science Foundation
for the Antarctic research community. In light of the new information,
the Gould and the Palmer are now using modified access routes into
Palmer Station to give a wider berth to the newly imaged rock
hazards.?
SPACE DAILY
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/antarctic-05e.html
Here are some of the ships that make (or have made) the journey
THE LAURENCE M. GOULD
http://www.newzeal.com/steve/Ships/Gould.htm
THE NATHANIEL B. PALMER
http://www.newzeal.com/steve/Ships/Palmer.htm
BOTH
http://moli.soest.hawaii.edu/antarctic/index.html
Regards;
tutuzdad-ga
|
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