Ice Highway to South Pole?

Palomar · 2004-12-04 09:11:20

http://www.livescience.com/environment/ … html]Click

*That's a mighty long stretch of road. Is it even feasible, considering possible breakdowns of vehicles? How many service stations could they have in between (even if unmanned)?

Seems flying in would still be best -- shorter/quicker.

Can't imagine such a setting. And has anyone ever been to both Poles?

Frankly, I'd rather visit the South Pole myself versus the North, though am not entirely sure why. Would miss out on meeting some friendly old elves and their toy workshop though...lol. :;):

--Cindy

C M Edwards · 2004-12-07 15:09:46

I'm of mixed feelings on this.

When I reach 85 years old, I expect to be left alone to say whatever I want.

On the other hand, Edmund Hillary ought to shut the heck up and let them build the road.

If they built a road to the summit of Mount Everest, I'd hate to see the litter people would leave along the way. Of course, with regular cleanups, Mount Everest might be prettier than it is now. (No more candy wrappers, spent oxygen bottles, dead bodies, etc. left lying around.)

John Creighton · 2004-12-07 15:49:37

I am all for the road. As for a road to Mount Everest...Why? There is a road to the top of Mount Washington. It doesn't stop people from having the desire to climb it. I suppose a road to Mount Everest might do the same. Heck it may mean moor climbers because they have less chance of getting trapped in a blizzard.

SpaceNut · 2004-12-07 21:00:20

I agree that most will be scientist or the occasional thrill seeker but most would not brave the conditions on the other end of the journey.

RobS · 2004-12-07 23:04:07

New Scientist, Jan. 2003:

The World's No.1 Science & Technology News Service

US building highway to the South Pole

13:52 23 January 03

NewScientist.com news service

American engineers in the Antarctic have begun work on a highway from the giant US coastal base at McMurdo Sound to the South Pole - a distance of 1600 kilometres.

In the next few weeks the ice road should have crossed the wide expanse of the Ross ice shelf, which permanently covers the ocean, and be approaching the Transantarctic Mountains. The mountains mark the halfway point to the Pole.

The road is expected to reach the US Scott-Amundsen base at the pole within two years, according to Bill Spindler, a scientist at the base and editor of South Pole News.

An initial purpose for the highway will be to help lay a $250-million fibre-optic cable to the Scott-Amundsen base. The cable, which should be completed within five years, will revolutionise communications at the Pole.

The Scott-Amundsen base is home to a growing amount of scientific equipment. But it is out of sight of most geostationary communications satellites, so it cannot reliably send back real-time data to the laboratories in the US that use the equipment. The cable would solve that problem.

Construction of the ice road involves clearing the route of snow, bulldozing rough ice and filling in crevasses. The route will cross the Leverett glacier in the Transantarctic Mountains.

Once completed the road is likely to become a permanent fixture. The Scott-Amundsen base is only currently accessible by air, which places limits on cargo and relies on good weather. The road could be open to heavy traffic for up to 100 days a year during the austral summer.

Scientists say the road will allow overland transport of the increasingly heavy loads of scientific equipment being taken to the pole, such as that for the planned Ice Cube project.

Ice Cube is an astronomical observatory to be built at the pole to study cosmic neutrino beams. Its detectors will be spread through a cubic kilometre of clear ice beneath the base. Ice Cube is expected to generate 20 gigabytes of data a day when it is completed in about five years' time.

The road will need to be cleared of snow and checked for crevasses and ice movement each spring, says Karl Erb of the National Science Foundation in Virginia, which is funding the $12-million project. "But crevices don't change much from year to year," he says. "We will just have to monitor them."

Spindler says it will take about 20 days to reach the pole, which is at an altitude of more than 3000 metres. The downhill return journey will take about 10 days. The traffic will consist of slow-moving convoys of caterpillar tractors, towing sleds carrying fuel and bulky equipment. Independent travel will not be allowed.

The polar base plans three return journeys each summer, says Spindler. The annual capacity of the route would be about a million litres of fuel - roughly the capacity of three Hercules transporter planes that currently supply the base.

Environmentalists appear relaxed about the scheme. The ice cap is a barren wilderness devoid of life. And the road is unlikely to pave the way to exploitation of Antarctic natural resources, as this is banned under the Antarctic Treaty until 2041.

Shaun Barrett · 2004-12-08 04:59:19

I'm no environazi, by any means, but I was wondering about those 'slow-moving convoys of caterpillar tractors'.
One of my main whinges here in Australia is diesel smoke. There seems to be no regulation of the amount of black soot we have spewing out of diesel vehicles here and, at least in Cairns where I live, driving through town with the windows open is out of the question because of the smoke. (Apparently 10,000 Americans die each year from the effects of diesel fumes but I haven't seen figures for Australia.)

I just had a mental image of long lines of smoke-belching tractors, blackening the pristine snow downwind of their exhaust stacks.
But I guess that's been thought of and it won't happen(?). ???
If not, the environmentalists would have been burning effigies in the streets, wouldn't they?

C M Edwards · 2004-12-08 14:57:35

I just had a mental image of long lines of smoke-belching tractors, blackening the pristine snow downwind of their exhaust stacks.

Drat! :bars:

Don't tell me one of the one of the world's greatest living adventurers had a point! :bars2: I don't want to hear it!

Whatever happened to ignoring the ramblings of old men! Where is progress for Progress's sake! Hasn't the world's largest expanse of unspoiled land been beyond our grasp long enough! Who cannot see the virtue of showing man's innate power over nature!

I want McMurdo Station to be another Cairns! :realllymad:

*cough!* *wheeze!* Where's my inhaler! *snort!*

I mean, um... Hmmm... Perhaps the environmentalists are merely waiting expectantly?

Palomar · 2004-12-08 15:21:49

One of my main whinges here in Australia is diesel smoke. There seems to be no regulation of the amount of black soot we have spewing out of diesel vehicles here and, at least in Cairns where I live, driving through town with the windows open is out of the question because of the smoke. (Apparently 10,000 Americans die each year from the effects of diesel fumes but I haven't seen figures for Australia.)

*That's awful. Might want to crank down your window anyway, because I heard on a news program a few years ago that the air inside a car with its windows up (even if air conditioning is on) is WORSE in quality than what's blowing in the windows! :-\ But there are so many "authorities" who later recant what they've said or are later "unsure." Anyway, thought I'd mention it. (Have seen photos and video of Cairns, a couple of years ago...hard to believe, considering it looked so pristine in the images. But of course you LIVE there -- I'm not questioning you, just sadly surprised).

I'm no environazi, by any means, but I was wondering about those 'slow-moving convoys of caterpillar tractors'...
I just had a mental image of long lines of smoke-belching tractors, blackening the pristine snow downwind of their exhaust stacks.

*We know you aren't. I'm not either...but there is a concern here. Lots of glacial ice in the northern arctic region is melting rapidly -- in what seems to be an unnatural fashion. Ships are able to traverse arctic routes in the dead of winter which before would have been impassable because of super-thick ice fields. It'd be folly to think the same couldn't happen in the southern arctic region; and come to think of it, IIRC a few years ago a chunk of glacial ice at the south arctic area about the size of the U.S. State of Rhode Island did break off unexpectantly. Enough said on that; I'm sure all folks here are aware of the situation. Sure, Antarctica is big...but those fumes add up. Healthily cold regions of the Earth are necessary for overall health. It just doesn't seem very practical as well. Again, lots of road to traverse -- how many maintenance/stop shops (even if unmanned) could possibly be along the way?

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2004-12-09 02:19:42

Don't run off with the wrong impression, Cindy. Cairns City is actually quite small and vast areas around it are still almost pristine and still very beautiful. But the diesel fumes in town ... oh brother!

CM:-

Drat!
Don't tell me one of the one of the world's greatest living adventurers had a point! I don't want to hear it!
Whatever happened to ignoring the ramblings of old men! Where is progress for Progress's sake! Hasn't the world's largest expanse of unspoiled land been beyond our grasp long enough! Who cannot see the virtue of showing man's innate power over nature!
I want McMurdo Station to be another Cairns!
*cough!* *wheeze!* Where's my inhaler! *snort!*
I mean, um... Hmmm... Perhaps the environmentalists are merely waiting expectantly?

Classic comedy, CM ... I love it!! :laugh:

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#1 2004-12-04 09:11:20

Re: Ice Highway to South Pole?

#2 2004-12-07 15:09:46

Re: Ice Highway to South Pole?

#3 2004-12-07 15:49:37

Re: Ice Highway to South Pole?

#4 2004-12-07 21:00:20

Re: Ice Highway to South Pole?

#5 2004-12-07 23:04:07

Re: Ice Highway to South Pole?

#6 2004-12-08 04:59:19

Re: Ice Highway to South Pole?

#7 2004-12-08 14:57:35

Re: Ice Highway to South Pole?

#8 2004-12-08 15:21:49

Re: Ice Highway to South Pole?

#9 2004-12-09 02:19:42

Re: Ice Highway to South Pole?

Board footer