********************************************** GEOGRAPHY ********************************************** ********** ALTITUDE ********** __________ QUESTION: How long does it take to get used to the altitude? ANSWER from Tom Stevens in February, 1995: Dependent upon how high one plans on going, people usually try to "climatize" for about 24-48 hours at an intermediate altitude. For those going to South Pole this is not possible, so problems can arise. If altitude sickness does occur, it usually only takes a day or so for symptoms to subside. ************ CITIES? ************ __________ QUESTION: Do they have any cities in Antarctica? ANSWER from "Facts about the U.S. Antarctic Program" - NSF 92- 134 The largest Antarctic station is called McMurdo. It is more like a frontier town in the old west than a modern city. In the busiest, summer season there are about 1,200 people who call McMurdo their home. In the winter there are about 250 people who live there. McMurdo has a harbor, landing strips on sea ice and shelf ice, and a helicopter pad. It has 85 buildings that range in size from a small radio shack to large, three-story structures. Repair facilities, dormitories, administrative buildings, a firehouse, power plant, water distillation plant, wharf, stores, clubs, and warehouses are linked by above-ground water, sewer, telephone and power lines. *************** DRY VALLEYS *************** __________ QUESTION: What are dry valleys? ANSWER from Diana W. Freckman from January 8, 1995: I am not sure where the term dry valleys came from, but I have a general idea! It is so very striking to see nothing but ice, beautiful white ice for as far as you can imagine, but no trees, no vertebrates...so that when you enter the valleys by helo, it is shocking to see this huge valley with nothing but soil, glaciers and frozen lakes. It is like seeing the Sahara desert stuck right in the middle of ice! They stay dry because all of Antarctica is a desert...there is very little precipitation.. less than an 8-oz glass of water/year ..and in that respect it is like our deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. The valleys also are removed from accumulation of ice and snow because they are surrounded by high mountains, the Transantarctic Mountain Range, that effectively keep the glaciers and snow from moving into the valleys. **************** HIGHEST PLACE **************** __________ QUESTION: What is the highest place in Antarctica? ANSWER from Lisa Gahagan on January 19, 1995 The highest place on the Antarctic continent is the Vincent Massif in the Ellsworth Mountains at 5140m. ********************* LITTLE AMERICA ********************* __________ QUESTION: There used to be a station in Antarctica called Little America. Is that the old name for McMurdo? If so, why was the name changed? ANSWER: from the Facts About the U.S. Antarctic Program (NSF Publication): Little America was not the old name for McMurdo. There were five Little Americas, all on the Ross Ice Shelf adjacent to the Bay of Whales or Kainan Bay. Numbers I and II supported Richard E. Byrd's expeditions in 1928-1930 and 1933-1935. Number III was operated in 1939-1941 as part of the United States Antarctic Service and was also called West Base. Number IV was used by Operation Highjump, 1946- 1947. Number V was an International Geophysical Year station, operating from 1955 to 1959. The stations have gone to sea as a result of calving of the Ross Ice Shelf. In 1987 a large iceberg (designated B- 9) calved from the Bay of Whales area, eliminating it, at least for several years, as a feature of the Ross Ice Shelf. ********* RIVERS ********* __________ QUESTION: Is there a river in Antarctica? ANSWER from Dr. Michael Castellini on February 6, 1995: On warm days during the summer in the dry valleys in the mountains northwest of McMurdo station, water can flow from some of the glaciers and make a small stream. So, it is not really a river as such, just a trickle of water! Other than that, you can spend all year there are not sea any liquid water other than sea water and the water in your shower! ***************** SOUTH POLE ***************** __________ QUESTION: Where is the magnetic South Pole? ANSWER from Deane Rink The magnetic South Pole shifts from time to time as the molten iron core of the Earth, which determines its placement on the surface, churns away. It is even possible for the magnetic South Pole to be placed somewhere in the southern oceans, off the actual continent itself. I am not sure where it is at this particular time, but it should be marked on any good map of the white continent. __________ QUESTION: Two magnetic poles are marked on the map of Antarctic. One is called the Geomagnetic Pole, near Vostok, and the other one is named The Magnetic Pole, close to the intersection of the 140 longitude and the Polar Circle. That one is marked 1983 on my map, so I gather that's the one that changes position. Why are there two magnetic poles, and what is the difference between them? ANSWER from Dave Pernic on January 2, 1995: The Earth's core acts similar to a giant bar magnet with the negative and positive pole roughly aligned to the geographic poles of the Earth. If you could see the lines of magnetic flux surrounding the giant Earth magnet, you could then see that they converge symmetrically at opposite sides of the planet. The center of this convergence of electromagnetic activity surrounding the Earth will be the geomagnetic poles. It is measured with sensitive instruments from the ground and from satellites. These instruments can measure the polarimetry of the gases in and around our atmosphere, and calculate where they should converge. The regular magnetic pole is a bit easier. This is where a compass points to. If you take many readings with an accurate compass, then you could plot where they all intersect and map that as the magnetic south pole. The reason that it is not the same as the geomagnetic pole is that the Earth is not a perfect example of a bar magnet. Its core and crust contain many irregularities which pull or push or insulate the electromagnetic attraction. So from the surface, the greatest magnetic attraction is to this magnetic South Pole. As the geomagnetic pole changes position, so too will the magnetic pole. Electric current is a strange thing and sometimes seems to have a life of its own, as witnessed from a novelty "plasma ball." But the electromagnetics of the Earth are very well damped, and relatively predictable as to which way they are moving. Right now, we are working at the geographic South Pole, The center of the axis of rotation of the Earth. Actually the Earth wobbles a bit from this axis as well, but an average is calculated and the pole marker is placed there. This is easy to measure. A satellite can take an exposure from the exact position for many exposures. The resulting photo will show the rotation, and the center of rotation is the pole. __________ QUESTION: Could you tell us the exact weight of the geographical South Pole marker that was moved to the new location, and how did you find out that the marker had to be moved? ANSWER by Dr. G. Guthridge on January 23, 1995 The South Pole marker is a standard section of copper plumbing pipe about 5 ft long with a brass marker on top. It weighs a few pounds. The people at South Pole Station could give us an estimate of the weight if we asked, but we don't want them to try to give an exact weight because they would have to take the pipe from its position to a set of scales to do so. Even then, they would fail to get an exact weight. The questioner might want to discuss the word "exact" in class. It is a powerful word. If an automobile showroom contains two cars, then exactly two cars are there: no more and no less. But if you want to know the exact weight of the two cars, you have to place them on the most accurate scales available, and even then you do not know the weights exactly, since even the most accurate scales have some error. Then, when you drive the cars from the scales back to the showroom, you have burned some gasoline and so they do not weigh as much as they did when they were on the scales. One of the truisms of science is that most scientific measurements are approximate, even when they have been made with great precision! We know the South Pole had to be relocated because we know from 38 years of continuous occupation of South Pole Station that the ice sheet moves about 10 meters a year. So we did not move the South Pole itself. Rather, the marker that was put in the ice last year had moved right along with the moving ice. Instead of pulling out last year's marker, a new one was put in place so you could see how much the ice has moved over the last year. __________ QUESTION: Why is the marker at the South Pole red and white? ANSWER from Ann Steven on February 11, 1995 There is no particular reason why the ceremonial South Pole marker is red and white, however, here is some of its history: When the first permanent habitat was built during Deep Freeze 2 (1957) when Paul Siple was there. One of his experiments included a mirrored ball, presumably to study the sun's 360-degree progress around the horizon. Paul asked the Navy Chief in charge, Charlie Belequa, to mount it on a post and suggested he paint it in some fashion to relieve the monotony. Charlie decided to paint spiral stripes on it. In selecting the colors, he decided to use his high school colors which were orange and black. The post with the mirror ball was a South Pole landmark from the start. We do not know when it switched to red and white. ************************** LENGTH OF THE DAY ************************** __________ QUESTION: What are the longest and shortest days in Antarctica? ANSWER from Deane Rink on December 19, 1994: I am in the midst of the longest day of the year in Antarctica right now. It had started before I got here and won't stop until after I leave; it lasts almost three months. We are so far south that the sun just circles in the sky for approximately four months from early October until Early February. The longest night is just the reverse; during austral winter, it will stay dark for over four months at a time. It's hard to get used to light all the time; to sleep, we cover our windows with heavy curtains to pretend it is nighttime. ******************** SUN'S APPEARANCE ******************** __________ QUESTION: Does the sun appears any larger to you in Antarctica during your summer than it does back here in Massachusetts? ANSWER: The sun does not appear any bigger than normal. It is just strange because the sun never rises or sets, it just spins around the sky. It took me a few days to realize that I would not have to walk back in the dark if I worked late. *************************** LONGITUDE/LATITUDE *************************** __________ QUESTION: What is the longitude and latitude of McMurdo Station? ANSWER from Lisa Gahagan and Guy Guthridge on December 19, 1994: McMurdo Station is located on Ross Island. The latitude is 77 degrees 51 minutes South. The longitude is 166 degrees 40 minutes East. ***************** McMURDO ***************** __________ QUESTION: Who named the town McMurdo? ANSWER from Deane Rin on Dec. 15, 1994: McMurdo is named after Archibald McMurdo who was an officer in an early exploration expedition led by Captain James Clark Ross (after whom the Ross Ice Shelf is named). I believe the Ross expedition occurred in the 1840s, but this is from memory--I may be slightly off. Little did Ross realize that McMurdo would ultimately become a more well-known name than Ross, because McMurdo Sound was eventually to become the main logistics base for the largest part of the U.S. Antarctic Program. For further details on early Antarctic exploration history, look at "Reader's Digest: Antarctica," or David Mountfield's "A History of Polar Exploration."