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There are many places in the US that will encounter 100 degree temperatures in July. The only thing is that the South Pole sees temperatures of 100 degrees below zero, not above. This is so cold that any skin not covered will freeze in seconds. Twenty-eight people have dedicated six months of their lives to living at the South Pole with no sunlight, practically no contact with the world and no avenue of escape. This group's purpose is to maintain the U.S. polar base and to manage telescopes and other scientific instrumentation at the research station. Present day communications and technology are altering that purpose. Astronomers in North America can remotely operate the telescope in the observatories of the South Pole. Never before this had a telescope at the South Pole been operated from a different continent. It is hoped that in the future astronomers will be able to control the telescopes at the South Pole from other continents on a regular basis. This would be much preferrable to the current requirement of braving the coldest, driest and windiest environment known to the Earth. You will not find elevations as high as those in Antarctica anywhere else in the world. Due to this, breathing problems can also be an issue. This is a reason that only plants and animals which have adapted to the cold can subsist there, which includes penguins, seals, some forms of algae and tundra vegetation. Anyone who faces the challenges of working a winter in Antarctica is known as a "winter-over". In order to occupy their time, they're given great meals, exercise rooms, pool tables, as well as hundreds of videos to choose from. Winter-overs are reluctant to discuss what occurs between when the station closes in February and when the military plane returns them to civilization in October. Since the number and complexity of the South Pole facilities have expanded so greatly, electrical power can often be fairly dogdy there. The three oil-powered generators at the station have been unable to meet the energy demands of the computers, lasers, telescopes, and other devices dependent upon power sources. This causes winter-overs to have to deal with not enough power, crowed living arrangements, and cold buildings. The winter months are broken up using some traditions. One is the "300 Club", which requires a day when the outside temperature will be at least 100 degrees below zero. The sauna is stoked up to 200 degrees for maximum warmth. Then they race from the 200 degree sauna out into the minus 100 degree air, and back again. The crew also looks forward to airdrop. This happens in June when the U.S. Air National Guard use a military transport plane to drop pallets of food, mail, and supplies to the people at the South Pole. The winter-overs quickly go outside, utilize heavy equipment, and bring the supplies inside. That single airdrop is the most contact with another person these people get in six months of occupation. They do not even get to see a tree or travel more than a mile from the pole. They look forward to the one week of vacation they get at McMurdo Station, a U.S. Antarctic base. While here, the winter-overs are able to camp out in the 25-degree climate, bake in the sun, and relax in t-shirts and jeans.
Article Source: http://www.holidaysoftheyear.com
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