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Prologue:
At this moment I am writing
this in a tiny little cave of a room, in a drafty
and shaky little dorm, in the dusty little town of
McMurdo, on a grey and remote peninsula on Ross
Island, just off the coast of Antarctica. (whew!
Take a breath...) I am composing a multimedia
journal of my travels and adventures for Apple
Computer, using some of their best available
hardware and software tools. How I got here and
what I'm doing is a story in itself. But first a
little background...
Here's how Antarctica's land use is described by
science:
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arable land:
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0%
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permanent crops:
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0%
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meadows and pastures:
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0%
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forest and woodland:
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0%
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other:
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100% (ice 98%, barren rock 2%)
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As of October 1991 it was reported that the
ozone shield, which protects the Earth's surface
from harmful ultraviolet radiation, had dwindled to
the lowest level recorded over Antarctica since
1975 when measurements were first taken.
Katabatic (gravity-driven) winds blow coastward
from the high interior, causing frequent blizzards
to form near the foot of the polar plateau Cyclonic
storms form over the ocean and move clockwise along
the coast. And if that's not enough, there's an
active volcano called Mount Erebus on Ross
Island!
While Antarctica has no indigenous inhabitants,
there are seasonally staffed research stations all
over the continent which bring the summertime
population to around 1200. During the totally dark
winter months the total population is closer to
200.
While no country officially "owns" or inhabits
the continent, there is a world-recognized treaty
in effect that governs the signatory nations who
visit there. The Antarctic
Treaty was signed on 1 December 1959 (six
months after I was born) and entered into force on
23 June 1961, establishes the legal framework for
the management of Antarctica. Administration is
carried out through consultative member
meetings.
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Where in the WORLD is Antarctica, and why is it
such a special place?
Here are some interesting facts about
Antarctica:
Most of the Antarctic continent is south of the
Antarctic Circle.
It has a total area of 14 MILLION sq km (est.)
(no kidding!) which is just a bit less than 1.5
times the size of the US.
Antarctica is the highest, driest, coldest,
windiest, most remote place on the planet. But the
weather is not the only environmental danger there.
Because of the now well-documented depletion of the
ozone layer, during summer more solar radiation
reaches the surface at the South Pole than is
received at the Equator.
East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica
because of its higher elevation, while the
Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate.
Its highest temperatures occur in January along the
coast and average slightly below freezing.
I worked for the Antarctic Fire Department at
McMurdo Base, on Ross Island, where the temperature
can range between -120 degrees (that's right,
one-hundred-twenty degrees BELOW zero) and +40
degrees (above zero).
The overall terrain of Antarctica is about 98%
thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock,
with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000
meters.
One of my favorite t-shirts I saw down there
said: "Ski the South Pole. Two miles of ice, two
inches of powder."
The mountain ranges are up to 4,897 meters high.
Ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern
Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula
area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound.
Glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the
coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11%
of the area of the continent.
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Tim Meehan
