Living and working in the cold - Antarctica: Global Science from a Frozen Continent - page 230

Figure 8.1 Jamesway huts at McMurdo in the 1950s. (Credit: AntarcticaNewZealand)

in East Antarctica and a precursor of the modern science stations was Mawson,
constructed by the Australians in 1954. Mawson station led the first surge of

building that occurred largely in response to the International Geophysical Year
(IGY), and its opening was followed in December 1955 by the United States '

McMurdo Station on Ross Island and then the Amundsen - Scott South Pole

Station in 1956.
By 1958, 12 countries had constructed stations around Antarctica. The
Americans relied initially on Jamesway buildings, similar to military Quonset huts
but with wooden frames covered by insulated fabric (typically canvas), and have
continued to use them since for field camps. The huts can contain sections for

sleeping, eating, washing and working and are often kept warm by oil-burning
heaters, while propane stoves are used for cooking. Another popular building
material during the early construction of stations was polyurethane panels, like
the ones used in the manufacture of food freezers. However, unlike in food
freezers, when used to build an Antarctic field station, the panels keep the cold

out and the warmth in. Many other stations were constructed of wood with
heavily insulated cavities between the walls. The Logistics Working Group of
SCAR provided an important early forum for technical discussions on buildings,