Where is Antarctica and how do you get there??

     Look on a map and find the Antarctic continent and the South Pole. People unfamiliar with geography often confuse the Antarctic with the Arctic and the North Pole. However, notice that there is no continent at the North Pole, only ocean. In addition, people often believe that polar bears are found at the South Pole and penguins at the North Pole. This also is false-- penguins{picture}are found only in the Southern Hemisphere and only five of 19 species are found in Antarctica. Other species occur in Australia, Africa, and South America. Polar bears are found only in the Arctic regions of northern Canada and Europe.

Map and routes for Peninsular or continental research

      Once you find Antarctica on the map, note also that there are really two parts to the continent: the western part which includes the Antarctic Peninsula, and the eastern half of the continent. The Peninsula is the closest part of Antarctica to South America. The southern tip of South America includes two countries, Chile and Argentina, and the borders of these two countries cross through a large island, Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire--named so by early explorers who saw all the native people's campfires along the coastline from their ships). At the south side of this island, in Argentina, is a small city, Ushuaia{picture}. This city is a port town for many ships, including fishing vessels, tour ships, and research vessels. In fact, Charles Darwin stopped here on his famous exploration on the Beagle in 1831-1836.

Travel to other areas of the Antarctic usually departs via Australia or New Zealand

     To reach the largest U. S. base, McMurdo Station on Ross Island in the Ross Sea, we fly from Christchurch, New Zealand. It is a long flight, approximately 12 hrs, and if the weather turns bad at McMurdo when enroute, we have to turn back. There is a point of no return, however, where that decision is made with radio contact for the conditions at McMurdo. If you turn back, you simply wait until the next day and try again. Sometimes it takes several days, and several aborted flights, before you actually get to the station. This is the route my team will be taking this season, 2000-2001.

Ship and Plane travel, length of journey

    From the Falklands, we fly to the British base Rothera in the Antarctic Peninsula in a Dash-7 aircraft. The flight takes 4-5 hours and may have to return without landing if the weather at the base suddenly changes for the worse. Sudden changes in weather are typical in Antarctica and one must always plan on delays while traveling in this region. Rothera is located in Marguerite Bay approximately half way down the Peninsula. See if you can find this area on a map.