"Sea ice made up of a floating mosaic of unconnected plates of ice that is free to drift with currents, tides and wind"
(New Zealand National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research)
This section of the website is for things that do not fit anywhere else. Don't assume that this means the leftovers! Pack Ice contains a wide range of interesting material that is well worth your time to explore. You never know what might show up here, so check back often!
"A job like any other, a life like any other"
Far from it. This article from December, 2009 in the online BMJ Journal tells the remarkable story of Dr. Vladislav Rogozov. Dr. Rogozov was the winterover physician at the Russian Station Novolazarevskaya in 1960-61. He came down with appendicitis in mid-winter and was forced to perform one of the few auto-appendectomies in medical history. The quote in the title was Dr. Rogozov's response to his subsequent accolades. Read the full story HERE.
Using Tourism to Protect Antarctica
Antarctic tourism has been somewhat controversial. A number of Society members have been and continue to be guest lecturers on these cruises. This article makes the case that tourism has been a positive force for preserving the Last Place on Earth. Click the title above to read the article.
The South Pole Winter Experience
Wintering in Antarctica is always a challenging experience. Wintering at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is perhaps the most challenging of all the American bases because of the elevation (9000+ feet above sea level), cold (record -117 F), period of no sun (6 months) and extreme isolation (no possible access for 7-8 months).
The papers below represent two perspectives on the winterover. The first was written by Dick Wolak as a Masters degree thesis at Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dick was the South Pole Station Manager during the transitional year of 1974-75 during which the original Pole Station established during the IGY was abandoned in favor of the new domed Pole Station. His account and analysis of managing a team in extreme isolation is a fascinating glimpse into the challenges he faced. Read it by clicking the link below:
Management of Small Groups in Isolation by Richard Wolak
The second paper was written by Marc Levesque, Logistics Coordinator at South Pole Station during the 1981-82 winterover. Marc planned and conducted a series of interviews of the Pole crew during the winter to assess how his colleagues were adaptating to the long winterover.These interviews eventually became part of his graduate work at the University of Southern Maine. It is a different perspective from Dick's, but no less valid as an insight into how people deal with the challenge of wintering at the bottom of the world. Read it by clicking the link below:
Paul Dalrymple, Antarctican Society Treasurer and long-time editor of the Society's Newsletter, hosted another of his infrequent gatherings at his house in Port Clyde, Maine. The the purpose of this one was to bring together Antarctic veterans of the original International Geophysical Year (IGY) during the 50th anniversary of that historic global project.
USGS Open-File Report 2006-1116 by Tony Meunier
Long-time Antarctican Society member and former President Tony Meunier developed this compilation of USGS Antarcticans and cachets over many years. This is an excellent summary of the USGS participants and projects from the beginning of the Geological Survey's involvement in the U.S. Antarctic Program.
The Signature of Glacier Ice
Article No.1of this piece of Antarctic research by long-time Society member John Splettstoesser appeared in OFF BELAY mountaineering magazine. Article No.2 appeared in the Journal of Irreproducible Results, the scientific humor magazine (www.jir.com) and is reproduced here with their permission. John has been waiting for the Nobel Committee to call ever since. It remains a unique "scientific" achievement.