Elevated Station Design for the South Pole Redevelopment Project
at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
by William D. Brooks, AIA
2. Background
The first International Geophysical Year, conducted in 1957-58, triggered the construction of numerous research stations in Antarctica. By 1980, there were 34 year-round stations maintained by 12 different countries: Argentina (8), USSR (6), United Kingdom (4), United States (4), Chile (3), Australia (3), Japan (2), South Africa (1), New Zealand (1), Poland (1), and France (1). The majority of these stations are located along Antarctica’s coastline and constructed on grade using traditional cold regions techniques. Some Stations, however, have been established on the permanent ice shelfs or further inland on the interior plateau, most notably the U.S. Amundsen-Scott Station, which is located at the geographic south pole. For these non-coastal stations, Antarctica’s environmental conditions pose significant challenges, and traditional cold regions construction techniques are seldom adequate to cope with them. The primary challenges for stations located on the ice shelfs or further inland is annual snow deposition. With no frost cycle, snow accumulates year after year, ultimately burying structures built on the surface. Strong prevailing winds often hasten the burial process by contributing drifting snow on and around structures. To overcome this problem several countries have experimented with innovative above-surface “elevated” stations, initially constructed 3 to 5 meters above the snow surface, and often incorporating a means of periodically raising the buildings to keep ahead of the ever accumulating snow.
The redevelopment of the U.S. Amundsen-Scott Station, currently in the beginning phases of construction, will include the largest and most ambitious example of an elevated station in Antarctica. Scheduled to be fully operational in 2005, with a winter-over population of 50, the new station will set the standard for many years to come. The next several sections of this paper gives a brief history of elevated stations constructed in Antarctica to date, followed by a discussion of the Amundsen-Scott station’s design.
Proceed to next section: 3. Old Casey Station
Table of Contents
1. Abstract
2. Background
3. Old Casey Station
4. Filchner Station
5. Halley V
6. A New Vision for Amundsen-Scott Station
7. Amundsen-Scott Station Design Features
8. Conclusion
9. References
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