Outside at Scott Base

This is a picture that not many people visiting Scott Base get to see - twilight! Observation Hill is in the background with some of the brilliant purple-colored sky behind it. The small vertical line to the right hand side of Observation Hill is part of the antenna farm out the back end of Scott Base. The building to the right  is the kitchen/dining room/ bar. The building with the big canisters out the top is the Q Hut - the old accommodation block of the new Scott Base. You may never see quite the same picture again because of a big, new ablutions block blocking the view of Observation Hill, which increases the people storage capacity of Scott Base.

This is just a quick view of the locations of Scott Base buildings during 1997 and may not be very accurate due to continual change. They have now included a hydroponics unit behind the powerhouse and a new ablutions block around the bar area. In the area that says 'Storage', we use about a dozen shipping containers on stands to store stuff we don't use everyday; this way the base doesn't become crowded with junk. The buildings have gone through several name changes so if someone were to talk about "Q" Hut, they would be talking about the sleeping quarters beside the Hatherton lab. The shore-line is only a vague indication due to constant erosion by the sea.

This is a sight so familiar to those at Scott Base that it seems strange to even mention  it - the loading of the Hagglunds from the field store. Whenever you want to go into the field, you have to load supplies and equipment from the field store which is at the bottom of the stairs. It's a real monotonous job; heavy and time consuming. Everyone has their own way of packing a Hagglunds but there are only a couple of right ways. Having a competent person in your team is important and he or she is worth their weight in gold. The stairs down to the field store can be treacherous and many people have slipped or fallen while carrying the heavy equipment up or down. Don't forget that the same process has to be repeated when the Hagglunds return and the field survival packs , as well as other equipment,  have to be put away. If you're lucky you may be allowed to leave the Hagglunds in the garage overnight and sort out the vehicle the next morning at a leisurely pace.  More often than not though, the vehicle has to be unpacked, refueled and ready for any emergency or the next field trip. Sometimes resources are limited and everyone wants to use them.  That's Antarctic life and you get used to it.

Get a good close look at this door. As I have said in many other pages: It's the first door you ever go through and the door you will leave by. Used by most newcomers to Scott Base ( Scott Base residents), it's the main rear entrance to the base because of its proximity to the main vehicle hitching rail for NZ vehicles. As you can see, I took this photo just after a mild storm and before the stairs where cleared of snow. This much snow can accumulate in a mater of a few hours and constant vigilance is required to make sure the steps are always cleared. A shovel and broom are always close to do the job. If not done on a regular basis, the snow compacts and turns to treacherously slippery ice and the door won't open. Almost every exit door around the base has a light over it and the lamps normally need to be replaced about twice a year. The first replacement is when we start getting night again and the second time is just before Winfly, when they start to fault due to the age of the lamp and the vibration of the building caused by some of the strong winds.

This is a nice shot of Scott base with the Hatherton Lab on the extreme left and the field store on the extreme right. To the front is the pump house and just behind that is the wet lab where they do fishy experiments. If you look above the field store you can see the main yard light which is left on 24 hours a day until the numbers of hours of darkness are so minimal that it's not needed at all. Behind Scott Base is Crater Hill and, although you can't see it, there is a small frozen lake and an antennae farm as well as several small repeater sites and experimentation huts. To give you some idea of distance, it takes about 16 minutes to run up to the second shoulder on the left side of the hill... if you're as unfit as I.

Around the back of the base there is (or used to be) an alcove area where vehicles are often parked. The centenary wire holds the plugs the vehicles are plugged into to keep their water heated. As long as the water around the motor is always kept warm, the engine blocks don't freeze. Up the back of the photo you can see some of the old containers we use for long-term storage (L.T.S's)

To the left is the carpenter's workshop.  Behind that are the engineer's and the electrician's buildings. In the middle is the main Scott Base personnel entrance and to the right is the garage.

.

A day with a lot of glare and the beginnings of a strong wind storm which reduced visibility.

This is a nice photo of the right hand side of Scott Base, the sea ice pressure ridges and Observation Hill.  Sea ice pressure ridges are when the ice moves against the land and can't go any further - it buckles and creates ridges. Scott base is located on a section that juts out into the ocean (Pram Point) so the sea ice creates a ring of pressure ridges around Scott Base.

The incinerator, the building with a chimney, is no longer used and all waste has to be returned to New Zealand. The container to the left stores dangerous gases and liquids,I think. The two containers down the bottom are warm containers for science equipment... and beer. You have to remember that Scott Base is totally cutoff from the outside world for 8 months of every year and so provisions are made for many of the comforts of home.

Top left is the accommodation block and emergency fire exit. To the right are warm stores for vegetables like potatoes and behind that is a freezer for stuff that has to be kept below 18 degrees Centigrade. During the summer it is normally around -15 to 0 degrees Centigrade and far too warm, so refrigeration units have to be used. The pipes from the top of the accommodation block go out to the main water reservoir.  A constant flow of water  is kept circulating at about 5 degrees C. and used to stop the water from freezing. During some winters, I'm told, the pipe was almost buried in snow. We had to spend many hours during our winter with a small bulldozer (D3) to keep it free so we could access the back of the buildings. It also meant the warm stores and freezers were easier to get into. Right at the back you can see a small observation tower on top of the science lab.  That's where the next photo is taken from looking back this way.

The water storage tanks are to the left, the gym in the middle, garage right at the back, warm stores and cool stores are at middle right, Q Hut to the extreme right (just the corner of it) and behind that is the accommodation block called 3A. Notice the small sledge with the fuel tank used to refill the Preway (oil burner) we used to keep the gym warm.

. Notice the different type of exo-skeleton steel construction used on the top of Q Hut compared with the smooth lines of the other building's behind it - like the 3A accommodation block.

At the water hole, salt water is drawn up from the hole into the base and a small part is desalinated (salt removed) and used by  base personnel.  Drinking water is desalinated twice. The rest of the water picks up a bit of heat and is then returned back down the hole to keep the sea ice from freezing and the hole from closing over. We often break out the ice a bit more and use it for a polar plunge. The snow and ice will easily build up as high as the top of the pipe in the winter and you have to dig your way down to it. The engineers have to carry out regular checks to make sure the pipe is free to move some so the sea ice movement doesn't rip it off the mountings.

Have a good look at this ground. It's all volcanic, crumbling rock which is sharp and irregular and very difficult to walk over.  Even though Scott base is well used, people are not allowed around the back of the base or to the west side. This is to try and preserve much of the terrain in its natural form. However if you have to move cables etc. around the back of the base you soon find out how un-disturbed the land really is within a very short distance from the base perimeter.

I'm standing on the top of the 4 water tanks, looking towards the South Pole. You can even see my shadow which looks like a small cross.  Geographically, if I wanted to look at the magnetic south pole, I would have to turn 180 degrees and look towards Carter Hill. (As I've said on other pages, the magnetic south pole is shifting all the time and should not be confused with the geographical south pole.)  Black Island is to the right and White Island is to the left. Between the two islands the worst weather comes out of the polar interior and attacks everything in its path.

Still on top of the water tanks and looking into the back of Scott Base, you can see the vehicle storage area. This area has since changed because of  building additions to the powerhouse in the foremost of the picture.

The summer of 1998 and looking down from the road above - the sea ice is just starting to break out around Scott Base.

This is at the front of Scott Base and looking into the Telecom room and Administration block. Notice the small door on the left side. It is now used as a drying room but used to be the linkway to the old base.  At one time they both coexisted  while the new one was being built and the old one was being decommissioned..

The Scott Base sign - come on down and get your photo taken beside this famous sign.

This is a more unique  shot taken from a helicopter. You can see the extent of the point on which Scott Base is located.

Another helicopter photo taken during summer. You can tell it's summer because of the land being exposed. It's also the only time of year helicopters are allowed to fly here.

The TAE hut - one of the first Scott Base buildings ever built. It's now used as a museum and emergency accommodations.  Realistically though, if something disastrous happened during wintertime, it would be more practical to move in with the Americans with whom the New Zealand organization has a good working relationship. Even though Scott Base has the resources to last out a long time in the small quarters it wouldn't be the best answer to the situation.

www.geocities.com/coolrunnernz/

9-3-01

Edited by Shirley Baston - [email protected]  - ICQ #15167279