Wednesday, February 4, 2015

The Heroic Age of Antarctica

Wool socks left to dry for centuries in the Cape Royds Hut
The following photograph is this edition's Antarctica Up Close picture. Can you tell what it is? You might find the answer quite surprising.
Antarctica Up Close
Around the turn of the 20th century, the international audience became riveted by the lives and progress of an elite group of polar pioneers attempting to uncover the last uncharted areas of the world. This race to reach the elusive southern pole combined science and discovery through a series of epic journeys led by driven, fearless, weathered men from various nations from around the world. This time period is referred to as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. While not a definitive time period, most historians define the Heroic Age as the window between the 1890s and the 1920s. It was during that time that multiple expeditions tested the limits of human capabilities prior to the technological and industrial supports currently in place. It was a test of endurance, strength, bravery, and leadership where Mother Nature rarely followed the planned program and she routinely reminded them of her potential fury and their physical limitations.

Nelson, Day and Lashly in Cape Royds Hut. Feb. 17th 1911
Taken from Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge
As the name of the age suggests, these men* returned to their home countries as heroes. Some like Scott, Shackleton, and Amundsen for various reasons – including their personal accomplishments and social appeal – remain familiar in our modern memories. Others, such as Gerlache, Bruce, Charcot, and Filchner, have faded with time and only resonate with the most zealous Antarctic enthusiasts. But is heroic the right word choice? A hero is defined as someone who is extremely bold, altruistic, and determined. Someone who undertakes extreme measures for a greater purpose. There is no question that these men audaciously endured and repeatedly tempted fate in order to accomplish a purpose that no human had previously achieved. But were they the Supermen of their time? The stories, legends, and motives that swirl around these expeditions continue to be debated. But when walking through their huts, I cannot help but think of them as simply people that endured and mostly survived unimaginable conditions. For me, the mystique lies in trying to imagine the character and drive necessary for a person to choose – and for some choose multiple times – to spend years living under such conditions. They repeatedly pushed the limits and fought to survive with minimal and seemingly archaic resources.  

Cape Royds Hut
Discovery Hut










I had the opportunity to visit two of the three huts located near McMurdo Station. I toured the Discovery Hut, which is a short walk on the outskirts of town, and the Cape Royds Hut, which overlooks the Adelie penguin colony. The third hut, Cape Evans, is located on a peninsula halfway between the other two. Over the past few years, the Antarctic Heritage Trust have painstakingly restored each of these structures. All of the objects abandoned by the huts' previous residents were documented, refurbished, and returned to their original locations. As you walk through the spaces, filled with unopened canned goods, hung socks, mummified seal carcasses, and forgotten journals, it seems as though the explorers simply woke up one morning realized they were sick of the expedition and high tailed it out of the Antarctic heading for warmer waters and modern conveniences. Perhaps this is not so far from the actual truth.

Mummified seal carcasses in the Discovery Hut.
Oil oozes onto the floor.
Shelf in the Discovery Hut 
The personality of the Discovery and Cape Royds huts fits with their individual history and use. The Discovery Hut was purchased and erected by Scott during his 1901-1904 Discovery expedition. It was a prefabricated building from Australia. Perhaps not the best decision in design choice as the structure screams Outback bungalow rather than Polar survival shelter. Not surprisingly, Scott and his team found living on their ship frozen in McMurdo Sound more appealing than taking up residency in this unsuitable hut. As a result, Discovery Hut was used for entertainment purposes and in desperation by later explorers. Walking through the dark and sooty rooms, I found the space gloomy and unsettling. There was nothing homey or comforting about the place. Despite its historical importance, I was quite happy to step back outside into the glare of the Antarctic sun and whipping salty wind.
Discovery Hut
Cape Royds Hut -
Shackleton's signature on a crate repurposed as a headboard
Cape Royds Hut - The "kitchen"
Same one seen in the previous historic picture
Cape Royds on the other hand was built and lived in by Ernest Shackleton and his crew during their 1908, Nimrod expedition. The original purpose of the this particular exploration was to reach the South Pole. While this was not achieved, the crew did successfully summit Mt. Erebus (the southernmost active volcano towering at 12,448 feet) and make it further south than any previous group reaching the Antarctic Plateau. With only one hundred miles standing between him and the South Pole, Shackleton turned his team around and headed back towards the Cape Royds Hut and awaiting ship. The decision seems truly brave as it lost him the victory of being first to the South Pole, but undoubtedly spared the lives of the entire exploration team. In Shackleton's words, "Better a live donkey than a dead lion."

The hut itself is remarkably brighter than the Discovery Hut with an open floor plan. A large stove dominates the center with bunks situated around the edges. In addition to the layout, Shackleton's feng shui is significantly improved by keeping the rotting carcasses separate from the living quarters. While the air is still stale, it does not reek of creosote and death. I want to linger, to remember the time before the hut became historic, and to imagine the conversations between men on the cusp of becoming heroes.
Antarctica Up Close Answer
The Antarctica Up Close picture showcases an abandoned, half-eaten cracker. Even mundane items like a discarded lunch are preserved, seemingly for eternity, in this ultra dry, fridge environment. The passage of time has failed to foster the growth of any fuzzy green mold, nor I suspect has it improved the biscuit's overall flavor.

* It was in fact all men. The first women to spend a winter in Antarctica did not arrive until 1947 and were wives of deployed researchers.

Monday, February 2, 2015

The South and Its Four Distinctive Poles

Amudsen-Scott South Pole Station
The following photograph is this post's Antarctica Up Close picture. After reflecting on different possibilities, check out the answer below.
Antarctica Up Close
I have successfully circumnavigated the South Pole. Actually, I flailed my way around the marker attempting an epic happy dance that was ultimately limited in grace and style due to the burden of Big Red, bunny boots, and high altitude. But more important than my limited mobility, how do we define the South Pole? How can there be four different South Poles? And if there are four poles, which one did I dance around?

Pole 1. The Geographic South Pole - This is the point where the earth's rotational axis intersects with the surface. In other words, this and the North Pole are the two stationary points that the rest of the planet pivots around. This is also were all longitudinal lines converge into a single point and is 90 degrees south latitude. From this advantage point, a person is always looking towards the north. 
The ice sheet covering the pole is not static, rather this ice plateau that is over 9,000 feet thick shifts 30 feet each year. This slow, but steady movement means the pole marker must be shifted each year to accurately account for the change. While people in other parts of the world are watching the ball drop on New Year's Eve, those at the South Pole Station celebrate with the pole relocation ceremony. 

The Geographic South Pole was the elusive white whale for early explorers. Amundsen and his team ultimately won the race as the first people to stand over this iconic location. Scott and his ill-fated team arrived a month later only to find that their dreams of being first had been usurped.

Pole 2. South Magnetic Pole -  The earth is surrounded by a magnetic field called the magnetosphere. The magnetosphere limits the amount of ionically charged particles that are able to reach the surface. Due to the magnetosphere, the majority of charged debris bombarding our planet is funneled towards the North and South Pole. The path of ions streaking towards the ground create the luminescent Northern and (still existent, but less frequently experienced by humans) Southern Lights. By definition, the South Magnetic Pole is where these magnetic field lines orient perpendicularly to the earth's surface. The magnetic pole wanders quite a bit over time and rarely coincides with the actual Geographic South Pole. Currently the magnetic pole is found off the coast of Antarctica almost 3,000 kilometers from the Geographic South Pole.

Pole 3. South Geomagnetic Pole - I know what you are thinking this is a typo she just talked about the magnetosphere and it's polar ends.  The difference between the geomagnetic and magnetic pole is subtle. The need for these two different definitions results from the fact that the magnetosphere does not in fact follow a perfect dipole linear model, rather it is slightly deformed. If you were to imagine the magnetosphere as a large bar magnet stretching through the planet, then the geomagnetic pole is the point where this super massive magnet would intersect with surface. Currently the South Magnetic Pole is located near the Russian operated Vostok Station.

Pole 4. The Ceremonial South Pole - This is the quintessential barber shop pole with a semi-circle of flags representing the twelve signatory states on the Antarctic Treaty. This iconic marker provides a splash of color and begs to be photographed set against the stark, barren, white background. This is the sight of the Antarctica Up Close shot with me looking back at my reflection in the highly polished metallic pole topper.


Antarctica Up Close Answer - Ceremonial South Pole



The pole I danced around . . . Geographic South Pole of course. I ran around the world (or at least 360 longitudinal degrees) in a matter of seconds. Pretty impressive considering the altitude.