By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2025-03-27 23:35:06 | Updated at 2025-03-31 01:13:55
3 days ago
With six months of continual darkness, sub-zero conditions and supreme isolation, the Antarctic is the perfect setting for a horror flick in which the environment drives inhabitants to madness.
The frigid ice-mass on the bottom of the world is a magnet for ambitious scientists as well as adventurers who’ll work as janitors for the privilege of getting to live there. But 600 miles from the southern tip of South America and even further to the nearest point of civilization, some short-term residents lose it under the place’s pressure and isolation.
Because one thing that can still run hot in the frozen land are tempers.
A South African scientist on a two month expedition at the SANAE IV base recently snapped, made death threats and assaulted his colleagues after bad weather meant he they would be stuck there longer than expected. His colleagues pleaded for help and the country’s authorities are currently mediating a solution.
And the angsty South African is not alone.
“There was also the time when a kitchen worker didn’t get his winter bonus,” Peter Doran, a Louisiana State University professor of geology and geophysics, who’s done field work at McMurdo Station, the primary American hub in Antarctica, told The Post.
“He attacked his boss and injured him. The man got taken away and the FBI was called in.”
Humans do not inhabit Antarctica full-time, leaving the 5.5 million square-mile continent with no permanent population. Scientists are sent there for as long as six-months to carry out ecological and biological research. They find the virtually untouched environment invaluable for experiments, but the cramped conditions and isolation are not for everybody.
“What they say about people in Antarctica is that you shake the Earth and all the weird people fall out and land there,” Byron Adams, a Brigham Young University professor of biology, who’s spent several stretches at McMurdo, usually staying for two- to three-months, told The Post.
While fistfights are rare, they have been known to break out – the environment and living conditions can cause tempers to fray – and result in people being sent home early.
But those on the science side do their best to circumvent such outcomes. “We take great pride in vetting all of the personnel on our teams,” said Adams.
Those who arrive in Antarctica between October and March – when temperatures can go to 40 degrees below zero, in which conditions breathing is difficult, wind creates a burning sensation on the skin and water freezes instantly – must adjust to days that never end.
“The sun fully rises once, in October and sets in March,” said Adams, 59. “It’s awesome, but it’s also challenging in that you might overwork or not get enough sleep.”
People occasionally need to time themselves by the helicopters – knowing when it’s a Sunday because that’s the only day they don’t arrive at the base.
Adams remembers one such endless day, when he was at his computer at 1 a.m. with a piece of software failing to load: “This guy was pushing a broom down the hallway, he saw that I was frustrated and he said, ‘What’s up, dude?’ He had incredible skills and got it to work. He told me that he did CGI for [movie director] Peter Jackson, thought it would be cool to come to Antarctica and took a job as a janitor to do so.”
Antarctica’s temporary residents are mostly brainy, likeminded, outdoor-loving individuals, willing to take big risks and endure major inconveniences in the name of science.
“I’ve fallen into crevasses twice, and it was scary even though I had taken every precaution and was safe; you look down between your legs and see nothing by blue ice; it’s creepy,” recalled Adams.
However, despite the intimate environment, it’s no place for a frisky scientist.
“There are way more men than women; so the women have a lot more options,” said Doran who has been on trips of between six weeks and six months in Antarctica. Pointing out that even under the best of circumstances having sex can be a challenge, he continued, “There’s a lack of privacy and everyone has at least one roommate. I’ve never been involved [in romantic relationships while in the Antarctic] and I’ve never had a roommate who told me to leave or left a necktie on the door.”
Nevertheless, rumors have circulated about one worker in the Antarctic getting into trouble on base for being the likely source of an STD outbreak, however The Post wasn’t able to confirm the incident.
As far as dining goes, those stationing themselves in the Antarctic are a long way from farm to table fare. On base, due to few world-class chefs making the trek, the cuisine is described as “high school cafeteria” level (though it was upgraded for one lucky stretch, when a Las Vegas buffet chef dropped in to cook). However, on the upside, the cafe is open around the clock, catering, presumably, to busy workers who lose track of the time.
Out in the field scientists slumber in tents and hustle into sleeping bags that are necessarily graded to keep you warm at 40 degrees below zero. “That refers to survival, not comfort,” said Doran. “We use hot-water bottles as foot warmers.” The food out there can be older than some of the scientist’s’ children.
“The food that we eat is very old,” said Adams, “Plus the helicopters drop off frozen meat and frozen vegetables.”
Nevertheless, the two professors recall tasty, improvised meals of curry and pad Thai, while Doran remembers that he and his team made a parlor game out of guessing expiration dates, which, he said, “can be 15 or 20 years old.” On the upside, Doran added about the environment, “It’s dry and cold. So, stuff preserves pretty well. I don’t recall anybody getting food poisoning and sometimes we get people whipping up great meals.”
Back at the base, social drinking is not what it had once been. “They have bars,” Adams said. “But due to past problems – people drinking and getting into fights and things – there’s no alcohol served and you can’t bring alcohol in [to the bar].”
But there are plenty of other things to do – including tug of war on the frozen lake, skating, football and rugby matches – and both of the professors treasure the months that they have gotten to spend in the Antarctic, inconveniences and weirdness be damned.
In fact Doran, at age 64, sounds sad when he considers how few of the rigorous physicals (which are required for all researchers heading down) he will still be able to pass as his age gets the better of him.
“There are no old people and no young people [you have to be over 18 to work there],” he said, sounding like he misses the place already.
“You have an interesting population and a unique social vibe in Antarctica. And you’re there to do science, you’re surrounded by scientists, and you don’t have a lot of the hassles of home.”
