Thread: Whats going on in Antarctica ?

Stallie, thanks excellent bit of detective work,
and great images !!

your not wrong about the Russians having some good kit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&fe...&v=L-pBGeIQQ2E

Bob10, That's a CAT Kress 740. Used to and from Pegasus Ice Runway and base which is some 60 odd kms. Passengers and Freight. Ivan the TerraBus is more commonly used though.

Before Xmas, we land on the seaice runway which is only a couple of miles in front of station, but after ~Xmas we use Pegasus which is on permanent ice on the ice shelf.

Your pic bob is of the CAT leaving Pegasus. You can see the tail of my aircraft in the background. The cat front end loader is also used for loading baggage as there are no belt loaders.

Originally Posted by stallie

As an aside - you will notice in my photo, how clear the air is - and how that foreshortens distance. Those cliffs in the far background are 36kms away. Same distance as Yarra Glen to Melbourne CBD, or Hawksbury to Sydney CBD.

that must make VFR difficult ???

Not a problem for VFR actually. Plenty of other things to think about - like cloud cover over snow - but the clarity of air is fine.

The first time it really struck home was flying into a place called the Grove Mountains. We were cruising at around 6000 feet and expecting the ice to rise up to around 5000 underneath. The horizon was razor sharp between the blue of the sky and the white icecap. Suddenly I noticed a weird black triangle on the horizon - really strange. Then I realised that it was the peak of one of the mountains poking over the horizon, the mountain was over a hundred miles away.

Received an answer from the USAP, Bob [ Should we send your photos, Stallie?]

Robert,



I cannot understand the context of the photo without seeing the larger view.



However, it looks to me like it is an aerial photo over the South Pole and these are the emergency escape areas from the underground tunnels.

The powerplant, water pipes and waste pipes are all buried under the surface, but people have to walk in the tunnels to fix/repair. We have ladders going UP from the tunnels so people can climb out to the surface without having to walk all the way back to the entrance of the tunnel.



That is my first guess, but without seeing where this was taken, I cannot say for sure.



It could also be tractors/cargo that was left on a berm over the winter, allowed to drift over, and will be dug out later.



Elaine Hood
ASC Communications
Antarctic Photo Librarian
Education Outreach
www.usap.gov

The last line would be the correct one.

There are no underground tunnels in the area at McMurdo - only at pole.

A reply has been sent, thanking Elaine for taking the time to answer my question, and informing her the photo is of McMurdo, and the equipment on the berm must be the answer. Interesting about the tunnels, though. Bob

South Pole Snow Tunnels | 78south