q and a antarctica

Question:

I enjoy these missives from the South Pole, but I'm interested in having some more information. How cold is it when you're outside?

Bruce Rheins:

Temperatures can vary from upper 20s [degrees Farenheit] when we're at the coast [where McMurdo Research Station is located, for instance], to about minus 40 degrees Farenheit at the South Pole, although the weather can change dramatically at just a few moments' notice anywhere.

So far, we have not encountered any really daunting weather. It did snow a great deal one day at McMurdo, which is very unusual. The best piece of gear we are issued are these wind-breaking overalls. The wind is what gets you here.

Question:

How long can they stay outside?

Rheins:

Depends on how warmly you're dressed, and again, on that wind. Another great piece of gear we were issued are known as "bunny boots." These are huge white rubber, thermal boots that keep your feet completely warm, no matter what. The other day, we were walking out on the frozen ice of a lake in the Dry Valleys, and I stepped through the surface twice [through a couple feet of water to another frozen part]. My feet got wet, but they did not get cold. At the Pole, we could stay outside for two or three hours with little problem.

Question:

Do the cameras work as well at the South Pole?

Rheins:

The pictures still come out good, but it takes some TLC to get them through the experience. Cameraman Brian Nolan and soundman John Weiser have taken to taping hose chemical handwarmers [little bags you shake that generate heat for several hours] around the camera batteries. Otherwise, the batteries would drain down very quickly. Some people using cameras have experienced things like their zoom lenses freezing up, although that hasn't happened to us. The worst thing is that it's so cold, all that gear seems a little heavier. We all are pitching in carrying it around.

Question:

Does water really drain in a counter-clockwise rotation south of the equator? What other strange physics phenomena occur at the South Pole?

Rheins:

Yep, water does drain in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere. Water is rationed here, because it is so difficult to make. Most of it comes from desalination of ocean waters, some from melting ice. But all of that is expensive to do, so Navy showers [two minutes] are de rigueur. At the Pole, residents are limited to two showers per week. I don't know if it's a strange physics phenomenon, but I made a point of walking in a circle around the geographic South Pole. That way, I crossed every time zone in the world in 30 seconds!

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