Transport in Antarctica has transformed from explorers crossing the isolated remote area of Antarctica by foot to a more open era due to human technologies enabling more convenient and faster transport, predominantly by air and water, but also by land as well. Transportation technologies on a remote area like Antarctica need to be able to deal with extremely low temperatures and continuous winds to ensure the travelers' safety. Due to the fragility of the Antarctic environment, only a limited amount of transport movements can take place and sustainable transportation technologies have to be used to reduce the ecological footprint. The infrastructure of land, water and air transport needs to be safe and sustainable. Currently thousands of tourists and hundreds of scientists a year depend on the Antarctic transportation system.
The Ross Dependency, is a region of Antarctica defined by a sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160° east to 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60° south. It is claimed by New Zealand, a claim mutually accepted only by Australia, the UK, France and Norway, which are countries that also have territorial claims in Antarctica. Under the 1961 Antarctic Treaty, of which all territorial claimants are signatories, including New Zealand, all claims are held in abeyance. Article IV states: "No acts or activities taking place while the present Treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica or create any rights of sovereignty in Antarctica".
McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research station on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand–claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), a branch of the National Science Foundation. The station is the largest community in Antarctica, capable of supporting up to 1,500 residents, and serves as one of three year-round United States Antarctic science facilities. All personnel and cargo going to or coming from Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station first pass through McMurdo. McMurdo Station continues to operate as the hub for American activities on the Antarctic continent. By road, McMurdo is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from New Zealand's smaller Scott Base.
The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is a United States scientific research station at the South Pole of the Earth. It is the southernmost point under the jurisdiction of the United States. The station is located on the high plateau of Antarctica at 9,301 feet (2,835 m) above sea level. It is administered by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation, specifically the United States Antarctic Program (USAP). It is named in honor of Norwegian Roald Amundsen and Briton Robert F. Scott, who led separate teams that raced to become the first to the pole in the early 1900s.
The McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica, known as the southernmost passable body of water in the world, located approximately 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) from the South Pole.
The United States Antarctic Program is an organization of the United States government which has a presence in the Antarctica continent. Founded in 1959, the USAP manages all U.S. scientific research and related logistics in Antarctica as well as aboard ships in the Southern Ocean.
Marambio Station is a permanent, all year-round Argentine Antarctica station named after Vice-Commodore Gustavo Argentino Marambio, an Antarctic aviation pioneer. It is located in Marambio Island, Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula, some 100 km (60 mi) from the coastal civilian village of Esperanza.
A blue ice runway is a runway constructed in Antarctic areas with no net annual snow accumulation. The density of the ice increases as air bubbles are forced out, strengthening the resultant ice surface so that aircraft landings using wheels instead of skis can be supported. Such runways simplify the transfer of materials to research stations, since wheeled aircraft can carry much heavier loads than ski-equipped aircraft.
Williams Field or Willy Field is a United States Antarctic Program airfield in Antarctica. Williams Field consists of two snow runways located on approximately 8 meters (25 ft) of compacted snow, lying on top of 8–10 ft of ice, floating over 550 meters (1,800 ft) of water. The airport, which is approximately seven miles from Ross Island, serves McMurdo Station and New Zealand's Scott Base. Williams Field is the major airfield for on-continent aircraft operations in Antarctica.
The South Pole Traverse, also called the South Pole Overland Traverse, is an approximately 995-mile-long (1,601 km) flagged route over compacted snow and ice in Antarctica that links McMurdo Station on the coast to the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, both operated by the National Science Foundation of the United States. It was constructed by levelling snow and filling in crevasses; flags mark its route from McMurdo Station across the Ross Ice Shelf to the Leverett Glacier, where the route ascends to the polar plateau and on to the South Pole.
Pegasus Field was an airstrip in Antarctica, the southernmost of three airfields serving McMurdo Station. It closed due to excessive melting in the summer season caused by warmer temperatures combined with dust and dirt blown in from nearby Black Island. The last flight was on December 8, 2016 and it was replaced by Phoenix Airfield with flights starting in February 2017.
The Annual Sea-Ice Runway was the principal runway for the U.S. Antarctic Program during the summer Antarctic field season due to its proximity to McMurdo Station, until 2017. The present two runways in the area are the snow runway at Williams Field (NZWD) and the compacted snow runway at Phoenix Airfield (NZFX), which replaced Pegasus Field (NZPG) in 2017.
Marble Point is a rocky promontory on the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica. The United States operates a station at the point. The outpost is used as a helicopter refueling station supporting scientific research in the nearby continental interior, such as the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Dependent upon the weather conditions at the time, helicopters are able to fly in and out of the station 24 hours a day during the summer research season.
As Antarctica has never been permanently settled by humans, there has historically been little military activity in the Antarctic. The Antarctic Treaty, which came into effect on June 23, 1961, bans military activity from the continent. Military personnel and equipment may only be used for scientific research or any other peaceful purposes, such as delivering supplies.
An ice pier or ice wharf is a man-made structure used to assist the unloading of ships in Antarctica. It is constructed by pumping seawater into a contained area and allowing the water to freeze. By repeating this procedure several times, additional layers are built up. The final structure is many metres in thickness, and strong enough to support container trucks. Operation Deep Freeze personnel constructed the first floating ice pier at Antarctica’s southernmost sea port at McMurdo Station in 1973. Ice piers have been in use each summer season since, at McMurdo's natural harbor at Winter Quarters Bay located at 77°50′S166°40′E. The harbor is positioned on the southern tip of Ross Island.
Patriot Hills Base Camp was a private seasonally occupied camp in Antarctica. It was located in the Heritage Range of the Ellsworth Mountains, next to the Patriot Hills that gave it its name.
Antarctic Development Squadron Six was a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California with forward operating bases at Christchurch, New Zealand, and McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Pegasus Road is an 18-mile (29 km) long road of dirt and packed snow constructed by the United States Antarctic Program on Ross Island and the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The trip along the road from McMurdo Station to Pegasus Field takes approximately 45 minutes in a "Delta" wheeled vehicle, although on occasion high temperatures have damaged the runway and caused the road surface to deteriorate enough to lengthen the trip to two hours.
Firefighting in Antarctica encompasses various organizations and procedures designed to fight fires on the continent of Antarctica. Firefighting in Antarctica is complicated by the harsh conditions of the continent, the remoteness of the locations to be serviced, and the importance of protecting life-supporting shelter from immolation.
