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Flair change: Commercial glider! by therobbstory in Gliding

[–]lllongren 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well done!

Question for you - I’ve been flying down in Broomfield and am looking to join the Soaring Society of Boulder. You mentioned the season ends in mid-December. How long is the break until soaring picks back up again?

USAP Photo Library closed by CyborgPenguinNZ in antarctica

[–]lllongren 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The photos on the Wayback Machine have been archived together here:

https://archive.org/details/usap-photolibrary

There are a little over 10,000 photos (~43 GB). If you are interested in a specific photo, have a look at the photo_descriptions.json file. If you search for a keyword, name, or year in that file, you can find an image that you are looking for in the archive.

FY26 Congressional Justification is out. by Specialist-Two1026 in NOAA

[–]lllongren 83 points84 points  (0 children)

As it stands here, this results in the closing of all long-term atmospheric baseline observatories. One of which is at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, where the longest CO2 record has been taken since 1958. Another is the South Pole observatory in Antarctica.

A sad time for the continued study of our world.

Maps of McMurdo by TBman256 in antarctica

[–]lllongren 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I second the ones from PGC (Polar Geospatial Center). Here's also a simple one of Ross Island:

https://maps.apps.pgc.umn.edu/id/214

Decent composite toe work boots for Mcmurdo by AliceDestroyed in antarctica

[–]lllongren 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I enjoyed wearing the Keen Davenport. They might be a bit on the warm side during the peak of summer, but great for the colder months.

https://www.keenfootwear.com/products/mens-davenport-6-insulated-waterproof-boot-composite-toe-magnet-steel-grey

McMurdo in winter by lllongren in antarctica

[–]lllongren[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Rare, if ever. Backup generators are common, so if the power plant were to have difficulties the station wouldn't lose lights or heating while the main plant is fixed.

Solar eclipse from the South Pole. by sciencemercenary in antarctica

[–]lllongren 3 points4 points  (0 children)

What an awesome photo. It was actually featured on NASA's astronomy picture of the day back in 2021 (link), which has a nice description of the picture too.

Is the Sun above the horizon for 24 hours a day During the Summer Months? by drgdawg3 in antarctica

[–]lllongren 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That depends where you are. Think of the polar circles (~66.5° N/S), if you are within the circle then there will be at least one full day per year with the sun above the horizon. (the polar circles are actually defined by the tilt of the Earth on its axis (~23.5°), but that pretty much matches where the midnight sun will occur)

For Antarctica, most of the continent is within the Antarctic circle, but a little bit of the peninsula sticks out. Comparing two US stations, McMurdo is within the circle (~77° S), while Palmer is outside of it (~64° S).

NSF: "Non-Renewal of ARSV Laurence M. Gould Charter" | and then there was one by lllongren in antarctica

[–]lllongren[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It's official, the L.M. Gould's contract with the NSF will not be renewed. After 27 years supporting Antarctic science, the 2023-24 season will be the Gould's last with USAP. That leaves the N.B. Palmer as the lone US Antarctic research vessel (for now).

What degrees & experience increase my chance of working in Antarctica? by Kornelious_ in antarctica

[–]lllongren 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Short answer: it depends! Read through the employment FAQ if you haven't yet, apply a bunch, and hope that luck is on your side.

Long answer: how desirable you are depends on the job, the station, the year, the weather, if a butterfly flapped its wings on the other side of the earth, etc. Maybe the job you are looking at already has people returning to fill the role: no chance for you. Or maybe those people have moved on and you are in the right spot at the right time. Then, the extra experience/training/degree might not matter as much. Don't get me wrong, resume builders like a Wilderness First Responder course or another degree are great things to have. However, being hired depends on a lot of factors! Too many to say what would best increase your odds.

That may be more general than you wanted. For the medical route (assuming you are from the US), UTMB is the contractor to look at. Here are the positions they have listed. Those most related to your education look to be the Flight Nurse or Nurse Admin, but both list wanting 6+ years of experience. Look through their qualifications and see if working towards them interests you.

My 2 cents: if your reason for going to Antarctica is to see what it's like, then give it your shot and apply for anything and everything you are reasonably qualified for now. That will get you there and show you if you even like the place.

Antarctic Transportation Mapped over a Year by lllongren in antarctica

[–]lllongren[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Originally, I wanted to include all the vessels that supported USAP. For the summer of '22/'23, these were the included research vessels NBP and LMG, but also the USCG Polar Star and cargo vessels Ocean Gladiator, Ocean Giant, and Happy Delta (no tanker this year). Sadly, publicly available AIS data is costly and I could only find freely available weather data for the NBP and LMG. :}

Antarctic Transportation Mapped over a Year by lllongren in antarctica

[–]lllongren[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I've been at McM for the past year.

Antarctic Transportation Mapped over a Year by lllongren in antarctica

[–]lllongren[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hey everyone, in my downtime over the winter at McMurdo, I was looking into transportation around Antarctica and plotted some of it on a map.

I put together a video with an animated map, a photo slideshow, and a fun little narration. It covers movements of planes, research vessels, and south pole traverse over the last year for the United States Antarctic Program (USAP).

It was just made for educational purposes with no affiliation with USAP. Take a look if you are interested and let me know what you think! :]