Fuel and Power

On a tour of McMurdo yesterday, I was informed by our guide that the program purchases around 8 to 9 million gallons of fuel every year for the Antarctic operations. The top user of fuel is aircraft, with the power plant at McMurdo being second, and the South Pole station coming in at third. This amount also goes to supply the kiwis and their station, Scott Base, with their needed fuel too. In McMurdo, the fuel is stored in the large, round containers seen in the picture.

For the South Pole, the fuel has to be flown in. However, they have been testing out driving fuel to the South Pole instead. If this was to become a normal part of operation, then they could get more fuel there over land than air. They are testing it again this year. Brad, an Antarctic veteran who seems to know everyone, is one of the drivers. They will be driving tractors with a loads up to 100,000 pounds each from McMurdo to the South Pole in 40+ days. One of the tractors will be hauling their housing with them. They'll be able to go around 7-9 mph for the duration of the trip. However, if the trail was groomed, as it may be in future years, they could go up to speeds of 15 mph. While driving across, they'll have a sensor hanging out of the front of the tractor scanning for thin ice/crevasses, and they'll have a person dedicated to watching the display while they are driving along. Apparently, this is a boring but necessary job.