Before leaving our Antarctic home, we (thanks to a few friends on base) had the opportunity to tour some of the essential facilities that keep McMurdo alive and well. In addition to the food preparation and storage in the galley, these include the power generation and storage plants as well as water treatment and reclamation facilities.
Power generation and distribution is carefully monitored across the base in order to regulate the loading on the large generators that power the base. For fuel uniformity across machines and for maintenance reasons, these generators operate on the same jet fuel used for the cargo and passenger aircraft on the continent. These generators require constant and dedicated attention and maintenance, as failing components can lead to anything from a minor decrease in available power generation or, in the worst case, the self destruction of one of the generators themselves (and likely the surrounding enclosing structures), which is not unheard of. On the day that we visited, one of these massive engines was undergoing a complete tear down as part of seasonal maintenance.
Gas generators are supplemented by large wind turbines to the north of McMurdo station. These turbines can function in winds up to 100 km/h and have to be taken offline from time to time in order to ensure that they are operating within normal parameters. Power on the McMurdo grid is shared with Scott Base on the other side of Ross Island, where excess energy is stored chemically in large array of short-term-use batteries as well as mechanically within a large rotating steel cylinder (or flywheel), which is kept out of sight in a shed near the base fueling station (which we did not get to see unfortunately). To maximize efficiency, any excess heat from the generators or elsewhere in the power system is used to heat a glycol system that is pumped throughout the base to heat water and buildings.
Similarly, the water treatment on the base is meticulously monitored to ensure that is is safe for human use and consumption. Fundamentally, the majority of the water on the base comes from ocean water, since melting ice and snow is large energy drain, and much of it is reclaimed for continual use. As you can expect, ocean water needs have the bulk of it’s salt content removed, but before going through this process, the raw ocean water is fed through a series of successively refined filters to strain out any number of macroscopic and microscopic contaminants. Once the water is effectively pure salt water (i.e. little to no contamination biological or otherwise), the water is desalinated through reverse osmosis, by which very pure water is produced in large quantities using a semi-permeable membrane that filters out ocean salt. This water is so pure in fact (many times more so than distilled water) that it could be fatal if consumed directly and in large quantities, so a carefully crafted cocktail of minerals and mild salts is added to the water supply to soften the purity of the water so that it is safe to drink. The mineral content and quality of the water is tested regularly to ensure consistency and suitability for use around the base, for everything from dishwasher and food preparation to hand washing stations, water fountains, and showers.
And of course there’s the galley! Throughout the Antarctic campaign season, the galley crew works literally day and night to keep the base well fed with 4 meals a day (which includes a lunch meal for the night crew or “Midrats”) as well as snacks available 24/7. At the peak of the season, the galley crew (or “stewies”) had to accommodate just over 1000 people on base, which requires a great deal of organization, planning, and hard work. For Sunday morning brunch and during the holidays, the galley prepares special meals for the base, which this year included lobster, steak, turkey, and spit-roast pig as well as hand-made truffles, fruit smoothies, and a variety of cheese and (if we’re lucky) fruit platters. Needless to say, we are well taken care of!
Most of the food delivered to the galley, as you can expect, comes in bulk, such that there is enough of any dish to go around to everyone. Since supply runs into the continent are infrequent and unpredictable, much of the food is frozen and canned for days, months, and even years. In fact, there is a lot of food that is “expired” by the label, but is still good to eat or use in food prep, despite being a tad bit stale. One thing that can’t be frozen of course is fresh fruits and vegetables (or “freshies” as we like to call them), and towards the end of the season when supply runs are low, we are certainly grateful for the occasional bit of salad or fresh orange that comes our way.
Despite the restrictions on what’s available however, including an Antarctic ban on pasturized products, yeast, and anything that can produce food cultures (no yogurt or cream), the galley crew always manages to not only feed the entire base, but come up with interesting, creative, and tasty dishes each and every day. In short, the stewies are heros 🙂
