# Anyone interested in Antarctica? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 2, 2013, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-interested-in-antarctica/645818 "2013-01-02T11:26:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-interested-in-antarctica/645818/81 "2013-03-22T02:43:38Z")
> [@turboman58](#): > > Hi, new here, got some questions about Antarctica! > > 1. Comments please, on the Volkswagen Beetle that was used for a time on Antarctica back in the 1960’s > > 2. I’ve heard that there is one actual highway on Antarctica, from McMurdo to South Pole. Is this true? and how much of the time is it actually driveable? > > 3. I’ve read that there are a total of 41 bases on Antarctica, from all different countries. Do you sometimes talk via radio or internet, to people at some of the other countries’ stations? > > 4. a) How many members on this board are actually currently stationed on Antarctica? (March 2013) > b) How would I find currently stationed members on Facebook, or MySpace, or ??? > c) Do you know of any station websites that allow the receipt of messages from non-station-personnel, to be received by various persons there, like a chatboard or mailboxes? I didn’t see the Beetle, but there have been a lot of different vehicles down there. Unless a vehicle has tracks, there are few places to use them anyway. The Americans built a road with bulldozers from McMurdo to South Pole Station, probably because they built a completely new base building there and flying everything in would have been very expensive ( excessive weight ). However, like all snow “roads” there, it would have disappeared in the winter, as snow drift covered it. The main requirement for the bulldozers is to fill in the crevasses. Ground travel on the continent is normally only possible in summer. However, there was a so called explorer recently that wanted to traverse the continent in winter. He had to pull out because he got frostbite. I never talked to anyone at another base, though some might now. Unless you knew them, probably no point. You would probably find people on bases by asking on related forums. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-interested-in-antarctica/645818/82 "2013-03-22T16:39:38Z")
Just a silly question that came into my head – what timezone do you use in the base? Especially for the Amundsen-Scott base at the South Pole 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-interested-in-antarctica/645818/83 "2013-03-22T16:44:36Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > Just a silly question that came into my head – what timezone do you use in the base? Especially for the Amundsen-Scott base at the South Pole 🙂 Just a guess, but I’ll predict GMT. ---
**Author:** ![Seren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@Seren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seren)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-interested-in-antarctica/645818/84 "2013-03-22T18:28:37Z")
Since you fly to Amundsen-Scott from New Zealand (not directly - there’s a layover in McMurdo), it goes by New Zealand time. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-interested-in-antarctica/645818/85 "2013-03-22T19:36:38Z")
I have several questions: -the so called “Dry Valleys”-Lake Vanda has an unusual property-it is warm at the bottom-does anything live in it? -THe movement of the ice sheet: Scott and his dead buddys-when will they show up at the edge of the ice sheet? -in the 1930’s a huge bus-like vehicle was shipped to Antarctica-it was called the “Snow Cruiser”. It did not perform well, so it was abandoned. It was seen again in the 1950’s, but has since disappeared. Does anybody know where it is? -when Scott’s and Shackleton’s huts finally collapse, what will be done with the remains? Are you allowed to take stuff you find (abandoned) there? -the East Antarctic Ice sheet was rumored to be moving-it was speculated that it might suddenly flow into the Southern Ocean-is this still a worry? ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-interested-in-antarctica/645818/86 "2013-03-28T04:57:22Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I have several questions: > -the so called “Dry Valleys”-Lake Vanda has an unusual property-it is warm at the bottom-does anything live in it? > -THe movement of the ice sheet: Scott and his dead buddys-when will they show up at the edge of the ice sheet? > -in the 1930’s a huge bus-like vehicle was shipped to Antarctica-it was called the “Snow Cruiser”. It did not perform well, so it was abandoned. It was seen again in the 1950’s, but has since disappeared. Does anybody know where it is? > -when Scott’s and Shackleton’s huts finally collapse, what will be done with the remains? Are you allowed to take stuff you find (abandoned) there? > -the East Antarctic Ice sheet was rumored to be moving-it was speculated that it might suddenly flow into the Southern Ocean-is this still a worry? The dry valleys are called that because there is no snow in them, not because there is no water. The river that flows into Vanda is probably the only flowing river in Antarctica, but easily checked on google, if interested. Various plant forms ( algae etc ) do live in Vanda. Again, a google search will obtain specifics. No idea, but I’m sure someone has calculated it. Try google. No idea about the bus. Where was it? The huts will not be allowed to collapse. Presrvation work is carried out all the time. The dry air preserves the wood as well. All the artefacts are historical treasures and if you tried stealing anything, would be in deep doodoo. The real fear is that the big ice sheets will collapse and allow all the snow trapped behind them to flow into the ocean, raising the sea level significantly. A lot of research is being done on that, though there is sod all that can change any such event. BTW. all the ice and snow in Antarctica is constantly moving into the ocean, though slowly, at the moment. There is a theory that in the event of air temperatures warming, it will start to snow in the center again, thus preventing overall sea level rise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-interested-in-antarctica/645818.md?page=4)