Discovery Hut

December 8, 2013
McMurdo Station, Antarctica

Discovery Hut is a short walk from town on a small hill.  

There are two reasons the galley is so quiet this morning.  Today is Sunday.  Since most of the staff works 6 days a week, 7 hours a day, so this would be their one day to sleep in.  On Sundays they also postpone the hot breakfast until 10 am and have a big brunch.  This gives me plenty of time to write and watch the snow lightly falling outside.  I haven't seen it snow much around here yet, but I've been  promised by people in the know a good snow storm before I leave the continent.  The dining hall filled up quickly and I discovered that Sunday brunch was a big deal.  There was lots of food and a particularly good pastries buffet.  I'm already looking forward to next week's brunch.

Ice in the foundation

As I headed off to study, math textbook in hand, I ran into my roommate, who let me know that Discovery Hut was open for viewing only for the next half hour.  Normally you have to get trained before you can enter and additionally it has been closed for construction.  


They are currently excavating ice from beneath the hut because fungus started growing in the wood.  Once it is all sealed off, they will return artifacts to it, which are now being stored off the continent, with the exception of those pictured right. Outside of the hut lay a seal carcass (above), probably 60 years old, found while they were excavating.   

Discovery Hut was put up by Robert Falcon Scott in 1902 and later used by Earnest Shackleton.  The hut was designed for the Australian outback and the two parties found it entirely too cold to sleep in and stored gear there instead.  However, during Shackleton's Endurance expedition, five men who were to set depots for the crew on their journey across the continent were stranded there.  Their boat was swept to sea shortly after they arrived with a lot of supplies still in it.  They managed to put some dead penguins and seals at the depot location and return to the hut.   They stayed at the hut three or four months.  Two men got desperate and headed out across the sea ice to try to make it to the nearest base but the ice broke up on them and they were never found.

Inside, the walls were stained black from the burning of seal blubber which was their primary source of heat.  The guide told me the smoke would have been oily and thick and required the residents to get close to the floor to breathe.    I am happy to be so comfortably housed at the station.



I spent the afternoon in Coffeehouse studying math.  It feels so nice to be in a dark cozy place after days of brightness.  

 

As a break, I visited the fire station's open house.  I'm definitely not too old to pretend to be a firefighter.

Everything is made cooler by the Antarctic logo, don't you think?

Twice a week they have science talks here.   Tonight Erin Pettit gave a fascinating talk on the sounds that the water carries in fjords.  These sounds range from the pattering of rain and waves to the melting of ice and calving (icebergs breaking away from the glacier).  It is intellectually wonderful to be surrounded by scientists and engineers, and so encouraging to have the support of this community.  Everyone seems to take a lot pride in making the science possible here, as they should!