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It's so funny to be watching the recent HN obsession with extreme environments. It seems to be more focused on Antarctica, which is kind of the "charismatic meg
by earthscienceman 4y ago
It's so funny to be watching the recent HN obsession with extreme environments. It seems to be more focused on Antarctica, which is kind of the "charismatic megafauna" of polar research. Having lived in Greenland and on icebreakers, I can assure you that the world of polar research is weirder than you might ever imagine.
In particular with respect to the size of these communities. McMurdo is effectively a remote city. But life at south pole, summit station, east grip, dye2, svalbard and onresearch ice breakers would be what you should look into if you are curious about these sorts of things. I'll link to a (small) selection of my photos from Russian icebreakers below that I've shared before.
Also also. Check out the Russian drifting stations for truly insane stories:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drifting_ice_station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drifting_ice_station
https://photos.app.goo.gl/CL6Rc4TE7ddZd4Xo7 https://photos.app.goo.gl/CL6Rc4TE7ddZd4Xo7
- sebmellen 4y agoAmazing photos! I had the pleasure of meeting Scott Parazynski (an incredibly impressive emergency medicine physician, astronaut, and adventurer who was the first person to summit Mt. Everest and go to space), and he said working at the McMurdo base over the winter was perhaps the hardest thing he’d done. He also said alcoholism is incredibly prevalent in polar regions during the winter. Curious if you’ve seen the same thing? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_E._Parazynski https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_E._Parazynski
- downvotetruth 4y agoWhat's bigger than a house with an indoor pool, burns 70 tons of fuel in a day, puts out a load of noise and smoke for a town and cuts ice in half? A Soviet machine made to cut ice in half in both directions!
- kylehotchkiss 4y ago70 tons a day?!? I can see why they are trying to make these nuclear powered now
- thedrbrian 4y ago>70 tons of fuel a day you're ok , they're nuclear powered https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear-powered_icebreaker?useskin=vector https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear-powered_icebreaker?use...
- downvotetruth 4y agoIgnoring the reactors including those of the Lenin that were disposed of in the Eastern Arctic.
- Scoundreller 4y agodying to know if the pool is saltwater or fresh water (or fresh water that becomes increasingly salty as the voyage continues). I'm guessing it's integrated with the engine's cooling, and is effectively free to heat.
- Waterluvian 4y agoA friend of mine spent half a year in Alert, Nunavut. He said it was fun until the wolves started eating each other when food got scarce. Then it clicked that this is a place that will kill you.
- kilroy123 4y agoI've always been oddly obsessed with the Arctic. Over my life, I've had these recurring haunting dreams of being or living in the Arctic. So I'm a bit jealous of your travels! I am lucky to have spent time in Svalbard and the Antarctic Peninsula.
- ThinkingGuy 4y agoRelevant book recommendation: "The Greatest Polar Expedition of All Time: The Arctic Mission to the Epicenter of Climate Change" Describes some of the engineering and logistical challenges of doing scientific research in the arctic environment. https://www.librarything.com/work/28223051/book/226617045 https://www.librarything.com/work/28223051/book/226617045