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10.30.07
I certainly found it hard to imagine before I arrived, and I had no idea how I would cope.
The news 'I'm going to Antarctica' got a mixed reaction from friends and family. People seemed roughly equally divided between the 'Wow, that's amazing!' group and the 'What on earth do you want to go there for?' group.
Thankfully it's far from the gloom and doom the words 'Long, dark winter' conjure to mind... so why not put yourself in my shoes for a day:
08:00 Powdered milk on your cereal at breakfast time. Or you could go for some freshly baked bread...mmm.
If you like a shower in the mornings, better make it quick. 30 secs per person per day max.
08:20 Start getting dressed, it takes a while with all those layers. In the winter time any skin left exposed will get frost bite.
08:30 Dig snow into the 'melt-tank' that provides all your water. Pleasant exercise when the sun's shining, not so nice in a blizzard at -40!
09:00 Weather and ozone observations. Enter them into a program which sends then off to be included in global forecasting models.
10:00 Ski out to measure the snow-stakes and find out how much it's been snowing
11:00 Launch of the daily weather balloon, come wind or snow! The instruments attached provide a profile of conditions all the way up to 25km. The balloon expands to the size of a small house before exploding.
12:00 More weather and ozone observations.
13:00 Pasta for lunch with a sauce made from tinned, frozen or dried vegetables.
15:00 Air sampling to find out how levels of carbon dioxide and other gases are changing.
16:00 Help with the launch of a remote control aeroplane equipped with meteorological sensors.
18:30 Extreme BBQ dinner. Keeping the fire burning at -43 is no small task but chef Ant is up to the job.
20:00 Take your pick of evening activities: Snow-kiting, Cross country skiing, German lessons, Samba drumming practice, Film nights, Quizzes, Ice sculpting and Fancy dress parties are all favourites.
A day in the life...
by
Imagine stepping into a freezer as you walk to work in the morning.
Imagine living without fresh food for 10 months of the year.
Imagine seeing nothing but a flat white horizon in every direction.
And living alongside 17 strangers, thousands of miles from civilization.
Imagine living without fresh food for 10 months of the year.
Imagine seeing nothing but a flat white horizon in every direction.
And living alongside 17 strangers, thousands of miles from civilization.
The news 'I'm going to Antarctica' got a mixed reaction from friends and family. People seemed roughly equally divided between the 'Wow, that's amazing!' group and the 'What on earth do you want to go there for?' group.
Thankfully it's far from the gloom and doom the words 'Long, dark winter' conjure to mind... so why not put yourself in my shoes for a day:
08:00 Powdered milk on your cereal at breakfast time. Or you could go for some freshly baked bread...mmm.
If you like a shower in the mornings, better make it quick. 30 secs per person per day max.
08:20 Start getting dressed, it takes a while with all those layers. In the winter time any skin left exposed will get frost bite.
08:30 Dig snow into the 'melt-tank' that provides all your water. Pleasant exercise when the sun's shining, not so nice in a blizzard at -40!
09:00 Weather and ozone observations. Enter them into a program which sends then off to be included in global forecasting models.
10:00 Ski out to measure the snow-stakes and find out how much it's been snowing11:00 Launch of the daily weather balloon, come wind or snow! The instruments attached provide a profile of conditions all the way up to 25km. The balloon expands to the size of a small house before exploding.
12:00 More weather and ozone observations.
13:00 Pasta for lunch with a sauce made from tinned, frozen or dried vegetables.
15:00 Air sampling to find out how levels of carbon dioxide and other gases are changing.
16:00 Help with the launch of a remote control aeroplane equipped with meteorological sensors.
18:30 Extreme BBQ dinner. Keeping the fire burning at -43 is no small task but chef Ant is up to the job.
20:00 Take your pick of evening activities: Snow-kiting, Cross country skiing, German lessons, Samba drumming practice, Film nights, Quizzes, Ice sculpting and Fancy dress parties are all favourites.
Tags: Antarctica
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