Contractor jobs on the ice
Today, I went with Dean to the NSF leadership group meeting. The Lead Doctor is usually the only one who goes, but because I'm Dean's primary back-up, he thought it best to introduce me.
The meeting is held in the "war-room" of McMurdo, otherwise known as the the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Twenty-five department directors filled the room: 18 men (including 14 with an impressive variety of facial hair), and seven women. The base commander went around the room, asking each to describe their week's activities. I found it fascinating. The biggest topic of the week was the management of the air fields. We are entering Main Body and at least three flights will happen each week, including flights by Airbuses and 757's before they switch to C17's later in October. Keeping the airfield safe is by far the biggest preoccupation of the base right now.
The meeting reminded me to answer the skeptical question posed by one of my masters students: "Why do they need all those people down there?" In response, here are a few departments--each with a link to an Antarctic Sun web-page and podcast--and a brief summary of their activities.
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| South Pole Traverse (not my photo) |
South Pole Traverse (SPT pronounced SPOT). Caravans across Antarctica twice each summer delivering fuel to the Pole and removing human and
environmental waste. The Pole program could not exist without them. These men (they are all men) are the cowboys of Antarctica. Traversing the 1000 miles to the pole can be perilous to say the least and requires 50 days of solitude for each round-trip.
MacOps: Communicates with the dozens of field camps to make sure everyone’s okay and to arrange all transportation (scheduled and emergency) to and from the field. If someone is five minutes late getting back
to McMurdo or if a field camp doesn't radio/satellite phone in their weekly status call on time, MacOps initiates an emergency operation.
| A field camp (not my photo). |
Berg Field Center: Prepares, tests, and provides all materials for the many field research camps including tents (yes, they sleep in tents), sledges, sleds, first aid supplies, cooking equipment, water, camp fuel, etc. BFC also flags the safe routes across the ice using ice-penetrating radar to identify hidden crevasses. Search and Rescue teams are also based in BFC.
Helo Ops: Provides helicopter transportation to field camps. A new contractor is running Helo Ops this year. Everyone
is a bit worried. It’s a dangerous job.
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| Sites where helicopters and fixed wing planes can land as well as locations of fuel caches across the continent. (If you click on it, maybe you can get a better view). |
Galley (Dining) Crew: Comprised of cooks and stewies (wash dishes, clean the dining hall, etc). They provide almost 4000 meals a day (about 12 unique dishes per meal) with often limited supplies and work round the clock feeding the day staff and the MidRats (the night time staff). More about food later.
Other programs include: fire
station, communications, weather, water plant, power plant, waste management,
vehicle maintenance, carpentry, lodging, cargo, facilities, supply, science support,
administration, NASA satellite control, IT and, of course, medical.
I'm struggling to get a handle on all the abbreviations and acronyms. Every department seems to speak in code. Understanding it is the sign of a veteran.
I'm struggling to get a handle on all the abbreviations and acronyms. Every department seems to speak in code. Understanding it is the sign of a veteran.
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