Antarctica is the coldest , windiest , and sometimes the dark position on Earth . And yet hundred of hoi polloi go there each yr to conduct scientific research and work as support stave at dozens of station scattered across the continent . In summer , the high season for diametric activity , the sun never go under , offering scientist and support teams an opportunity to represent soccer on the meth or sunbathe in blinding , cloud - liberal irradiation . wintertime envelops the country in frigid darkness — and urge the few " wintertime - overs " to indulge in naked footrace around the station . Mental Floss spoke to a few Antarctic scientists about what it ’s really like to carry out research there , include the hacks that help them survive the component .
1. THEY LEARN ON THE FLY.
Scientists participating in the United States Antarctic Program ( USAP ) , which runs all of the American research and operations on the continent , go through an basic briefing about living and working at the three American post : McMurdo , the large , which is locate on Ross Island ; Palmer , on Anvers Island off the Antarctica Peninsula ; and the Amundsen - Scott South Pole Station .
But with so many complex protocols postulate for day-after-day lifetime , new arrival often discover themselves on a steep learning curved shape . " There ’s no manual for a lot of things,“Michelle LaRue , an ecologist who study Adélie and Saturnia pavonia penguin and seals in the Southern Ocean and is often based at McMurdo , tell Mental Floss . " There are appointments for everything — nutrient , field supplying , et cetera — and you need a certain amount of lead clock time before you get into the field . I quickly learned that even though you think you ’re quick , there ’s something else you ’re missing . gratefully the support bunch there is awing . I do n’t do it what we would have done without them . "
2. THEY HAVE TO PACK CAREFULLY.
forgather everything for an extended missionary post can be tricky if you ca n’t depend on regular resupply lading . " throng for 18 months away is a total incubus . Ever tried to work out how many tampon you might require for that long ? Or conditioner ? " ecologistJess Walkuptells Mental Floss . Walkup start her career with the British Antarctic Survey ( BAS ) studying albatross onSouth Georgiaand is now the root word commander at the BAS’sRothera stationleading the 2018 wintering team .
" I ran out of anti - perspirant on one trip , and that was awful , " she says . " gratefully I was on an island with just three man and thousands of rotten seals , so no one seemed to notice . "
3. THEY HACK THEIR CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS.
Scientists and support staff who process in the Antarctic summer , from October through March , often contend with pear-shaped - the - clock day . Many institute eye masks and amnesia curtains so they can retain their steady sleep - wake schedule — but it ’s tempting to want to stay up . " After work all 24-hour interval , all I need to do is enamor up with friends or go hike . Time gets away from you jolly quickly , and before you know it , you ’re last to bottom right smart later than you should , " LaRue say .
The south-polar winter , however , is another subject . The sun does n’t rise for several months , leaving the entire continent in extreme darkness ( except for the twinkling of mavin and theaurora australis ) . " I regain that I was shattered all day and then slumber gravely at night , " Walkup say . " In the early afternoon I would have a monolithic slump and feel like it was 3 a.m. and I had been alive for a week . " She adjust by using aSAD lampon her desk and getting into a routine of winding down and going to bed at the same time each night . On the foundation , she say , " Your bottom is one of the only places you may get some time alone . "
4. THEY HAVE STRANGE TASTES IN MOVIES.
It ’s not all workplace and no sport for Antarctic scientist and faculty . The isolation and rough experimental condition create a sense of camaraderie that iscelebratedat certain times of the year . To check Midwinter ’s Day in the heart of June ( the point when the sun begins its return back south ) , the BAS bag , the Amundsen - Scott South Pole Station , and many others watchThe Thing(“the original , obviously ! " Walkup says ) . In John Carpenter ’s 1982 horror film , a parasitic foreign invades an Antarctic base and steadily takes over the minds of the researchers stationed there , with much gore , violence , and paranoia . wintertime - over also watch the 1980 classicThe Shining , a likewise chilly flick feature an unhealthy dot of insanity .
In August , many of the Antarctic stations compete in the48 - Hour Winter Film Festival , in which team submit short films that control five key elements and are made in less than 48 60 minutes . " We then catch all the submissions and voting on the winners under various categories , like at the Oscars . It ’s a heavy way to learn about the international Antarctic residential area and see the inside of other station , " Walkup says . ( determine a selection from the2016 festivalon Vimeo ) .
5. THEY MAKE TIME TO PARTY.
for sure , scientists spend many hours track neutrinos , take wildlife surveys , collecting ice gist , and fulfilling other objectives . But when they ’re off the clock , they wish to kick back . " count on the time of yr , there ’s all sort of iconic parties and events to attend to : Halloween , Thanksgiving dinner , the marathon , gift shows , the film festival , IceStock — that ’s an outdoor concert on New Year ’s Eve . If you ’re in McMurdo over New Year ’s Eve , youhaveto go to IceStock , " LaRue say .
However , some of thegames and competitionsmight seem fatalistic to those with a greater array of entertainment options . For example , when the temperature drops to -50 ° C ( -58 ° F ) , scientists and faculty comic strip naked and run around their stations ' perimeters , Walkup reports .
Even that ’s not as mad as vying for membership in the 300 Club . When the temperature drops to -100 ° F at the South Pole station , daredevils first strong up in a 200 ° F sauna , then dash outside ( au naturel , of course ) to the point mark the Geographic South Pole several yards off , then run shrieking back into the sauna — having experience a 300 - grade range in temperature in just a few moment .
The activities do n’t just keep boredom at bay ; they really ward off the unenrgetic , depressive nation one gets from live in uttermost closing off , which the wintertime - overs call " toast . " As Sven Lidström , a Swedish engineer who helped build theIceCube South PoleNeutrino Observatory , wrotein a 2012 blog post , " the cure for winter - over toastiness is sport and entertainment . "
6. THEY START CRAVING SALAD …
harmonise to Jason C. Anthony , author ofHoosh : Roast Penguin , Scurvy Day , and Other Stories of Antarctic Cuisine , much of the culinary history of the southern continent consists of " separated , insulated people run through eitherprepackaged expedition foodor butcher sea animation . " Now , 21st - C scientists chow down on three newly prepared repast a day at McMurdo and other stations . " Of the five seasons I spent in , or worked out of , McMurdo , I only really remember one wherefreshies”—local slang for any kind of fresh produce—“were in noticeably short supply , " LaRue says .
But scientists and staff still have to cope with the lack of some favorite intellectual nourishment — and those whose fitness for eat up is moot .
" We only really get two delivery of refreshful food a year , one around December and then again around March . All our milk is powderise , and I got used to that very quick . Some citizenry detest it , but in a cup of Camellia sinensis or a bowl of cereal grass , I do n’t really notice . I would n’t drink a drinking glass of it , though , " Walkup says .
Walkup devised ways to try if calendar month - old solid food were still edible . " We were eating egg nine month after they had been put , " she says . " Some eggs that look moldy on the outside , and even on the inside , are okay to eat . The trick is to break each nut into a cup to check that it is OK — i.e. , does n’t smell — before add it to whatever you ’re make . If the eggs are starting to go , then this is vital — you do n’t want to bankrupt your mixture with a forged egg . "
They also get some surprising cravings . " The thing I neglect was salad , as that does n’t travel well , " Walkup add . " I was never a vast fan of salad before I go south , but now I love it . "
7. … AND BOOZE.
No planes can fly supplies into the Amundsen - Scott South Pole Station for up to nine calendar month of the year , because at temperatures below -50 ° C , the super C fuel freezes . That go forth the small radical of winter - overs to their own gadget . The companionship operate the place ply the scientists and support team with vast palette of wine , beer , and spirits that give upgrade to a improvised stripe at the Amundsen - Scott South Pole Station dubbed Club 90 South . Phil Broughton , a health physicist who pass one long , dark winter there in the mid - aughts , was itsde facto bartender .
He develop a protocol for distributing intoxicant : serve enough to help the patrons get through the dreary calendar week of winter , and then make certain that those who were totally plaster did n’t go home . " The most dire risk in Antarctica isalwaysfailure to observe the utterly lethal environment of Antarctica itself . I was far felicitous to help until I could guide [ the toper ] over to a couch to pass out than to see him stagger out into the -85 ° F night,“Broughton wrotein a blog Charles William Post .
lot of scientist channel in their favourite spirits , just in casing their base run out halfway through the season . order LaRue , " bring scotch with you is a must . "
8. SOMETIMES THEY ACTUALLY FEEL TOO WARM.
scientist in the line of business have to weary bed upon layer of insulate habiliment , bring in more hand and infantry warmers than they opine they ’ll involve , and stay fighting to debar hypothermia . " I distinctly remember one snow machine stumble back to townsfolk , where the wind was just whip across our faces , my digit were asleep . It was really dusty , " LaRue says . " As before long as I parked the snow machine I got off and just ran as fast and as far as I could to warm up up . "
In the summertime season , though , being bundled in Gore - Tex can make them too hot . The highly juiceless climate prevents the chilly moist impression of more moderate regions — and if the sun is shining , its light beam spring off the brooding ice and electrocute the research worker . " Sometimes you may get really warm and even work in trunks and a t - shirt , " Walkup sound out . " At 79 degrees in the south it can be -10 ° C [ 14 ° F ] in the stature of summer , and the sun is really strong , so on a day with no twist it is warm enough to sunbathe — just do n’t lay down in the Baron Snow of Leicester . "
9. THEY DON’T SEE POLAR BEARS.
Antarctica pullulate with wildlife : six specie ofpenguins , six species ofseal , countless seabirds , and purple whales are the southerly ocean ’s most magnetic fauna . Scientists wo n’t see any mammals from that other pole , however . Says Walkup , " people always ask me if I have visit polar bear . I haven’t — they only go in the Arctic . "
