Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 8.10
Hydroponics in the South Pole Food
Growth Chamber, which is a favourite place for people
to go and relax. (Credit: Lane Patterson, NSF)
At the smaller stations, scientists and support
personnel typically share the responsibilities for
cooking, but most of the larger facilities have
professional chefs. It takes a lot of energy to fuel
bodies working outside in extreme cold and
menus are typically developed by a nutritionist or
food management specialist to be nutritionally competent and provide a variety
of interest. Food is basically the same as you would eat at home and menus re
ect
the cuisine of the home country; for instance, you might
find marmite on toast for
breakfast at New Zealand
s
Mario Zucchelli Station. The pantry at the German station is stocked with tins of
sauerkraut, there is plenty of rice at India
'
s Scott Base and pasta and wine for dinner at Italy
'
is Maitri Station and, what else but turkeys
are roasted for Thanksgiving dinner at the American
'
s McMurdo.
Most stations have a limited supply of alcohol and when the weather is nice,
social activities might include barbecues or cross-country skiing; many of them also
have indoor gym equipment and most have libraries and room to play music, pool
or board games or watch DVDs. The largest station, McMurdo, even has a small
bowling alley!
Packaging of foodstuffs (and other supplies) must be kept to an absolute
minimum and nothing can be wasted. Meat is brought to Antarctica boneless and,
just like in a practical home kitchen, leftovers are creatively used in the next day
'
'
s
meals. Whilst on many stations everyone helps out with the cleaning up, some
stations now employ contractors to undertake all the service support.
For stations near the coast, fresh water is made by desalinating seawater
through a reverse osmosis process. At inland stations, ice and snow are melted to
make fresh water. Generators supply power and heat to most of the stations and the
majority are still fuelled by diesel. Historically, this has been a logical power source,
but it comes at a high
the implications of
fuel spills and damage to the atmosphere are most extreme on the Antarctic
continent. Just like everything else, fuel needs to be taken to Antarctica by ship or
airplane and then transported to the more remote localities. The installation of wind
turbines by New Zealand and Australia is generating wider interest in replacing
at least some diesel power with more sustainable power sources.
Depending on their home country, scientists and staff arrive by sea or air and
many national programmes work cooperatively to make transportation as economic
financial and environmental cost
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