Tim Meehan's Antarctic Adventure

Introduction

Call Me Ishmael...

Well, actually, my real name is Tim Meehan. I am a graphic arts professional turned Macintosh computer graphics consultant. My home and office are in a shady little suburb of Denver, Colorado, called Arvada.

Last year I was presented with the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Antarctica as part of the support effort for the National Science Foundation, which sponsors a variety of international research projects there. (How could I say "No?") Naturally, my first hundred phone calls in preparation for this adventure were to Apple Computer, Inc. to figure out a way that Apple and the rest of the world could share in the experience.

Fortunately, I was able to capture the attention of some very helpful and interested individuals in the Apple Solution Professionals Network program (of which I am a member). By immediately having the vision to realize the scope of the project and seeing a global picture, they helped by securing some very impressive technology, including a PowerBook 540c, and a QuickTake 150 digital camera to record and transmit my experiences, real-time, back to classrooms across the United States.

What follows in these subsequent pages are a collection of my journal entries and selected images of everything I saw and did in the four months between October, 1995, and February, 1996. After returning and spending the past 12 months getting my life back in order, Apple has asked me to post my experiences to the World Wide Web, so the rest of the world can enjoy and learn from my experiences.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed putting them together.

Tim Meehan

McMurdo Base, Ross Island, Antarctica - January, 1996

Where in the WORLD?

Prologue:

At this moment I am writing this in a tiny little cave of a room, in a drafty and shaky little dorm, in the dusty little town of McMurdo, on a grey and remote peninsula on Ross Island, just off the coast of Antarctica. (whew! Take a breath...) I am composing a multimedia journal of my travels and adventures for Apple Computer, using some of their best available hardware and software tools. How I got here and what I'm doing is a story in itself. But first a little background...

Here's how Antarctica's land use is described by science:

• arable land: 0%
• permanent crops: 0%
• meadows and pastures: 0%
• forest and woodland: 0%
• other: 100% (ice 98%, barren rock 2%)

As of October 1991 it was reported that the ozone shield, which protects the Earth's surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation, had dwindled to the lowest level recorded over Antarctica since 1975 when measurements were first taken.

Katabatic (gravity-driven) winds blow coastward from the high interior, causing frequent blizzards to form near the foot of the polar plateau Cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise along the coast. And if that's not enough, there's an active volcano called Mount Erebus on Ross Island!

While Antarctica has no indigenous inhabitants, there are seasonally staffed research stations all over the continent which bring the summertime population to around 1200. During the totally dark winter months the total population is closer to 200.

While no country officially "owns" or inhabits the continent, there is a world-recognized treaty in effect that governs the signatory nations who visit there. The Antarctic Treaty was signed on 1 December 1959 (six months after I was born) and entered into force on 23 June 1961, establishes the legal framework for the management of Antarctica. Administration is carried out through consultative member meetings.

Here are some interesting facts about Antarctica:

Most of the Antarctic continent is south of the Antarctic Circle.

It has a total area of 14 MILLION sq km (est.) (no kidding!) which is just a bit less than 1.5 times the size of the US.

Antarctica is the highest, driest, coldest, windiest, most remote place on the planet. But the weather is not the only environmental danger there. Because of the now well-documented depletion of the ozone layer, during summer more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South Pole than is received at the Equator.

East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation, while the Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate. Its highest temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing.

I worked for the Antarctic Fire Department at McMurdo Base, on Ross Island, where the temperature can range between -120 degrees (that's right, one-hundred-twenty degrees BELOW zero) and +40 degrees (above zero).

The overall terrain of Antarctica is about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters.

One of my favorite t-shirts I saw down there said: "Ski the South Pole. Two miles of ice, two inches of powder."

The mountain ranges are up to 4,897 meters high. Ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound. Glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent.

Where EXACTLY is Ross Island?

Ross Island is right on the edge of the Ross Sea ice shelf, in the middle of McMurdo Sound. (For which the town of McMurdo is named)

This is a map of Ross Island, showing the location of the McMurdo Base research station. McMurdo is at the very end of the smallest isthmus extending from the island.

This point is called "Discovery Point" and is where the original Antarctic explorers first established their permanent base. Scott's original hut is still standing on the point at the edge of Winter Quarters Bay, so the McMurdo residents sometimes refer to it as "Hut Point".

See Also

• Apple Solution Professionals Network