Antarctica is neither a forgotten nor an uninhabited continent. During the summer, when it is light for 24 hours a day, volcanologists, biologists, physicists, helicopter and aeroplane pilots, mountaineers and mechanics are busily working, not to mention the presence of increasing numbers of tourists (see WIDEWORLD Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 1–3).
Groups from many countries have set up research bases in Antarctica. I am here working on the US Antarctic Program, living at a field camp on Antarctica’s most continually active volcano, Mount Erebus (see Figure 1). Other researchers spend little time on land, preferring to navigate the sea ice in boats. So what is it actually like to live in Antarctica, and why do people choose to do so?
Your organisation does not have access to this article.
Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise
Subscribe
