Maximum & Minimum temperatures: -22 °C to -30 °C
Environmental regulations and standards in Antarctica follow the Protocol of Environmental Protection under the Antarctic Treaty. All activities are evaluated in accordance to these standards. Our project has reported the wide variety of activities that we carry out in an initial environmental evaluation. The evaluation was approved by the Norwegian Ministry of Environment prior to departure.
The most severe impact from our project is burning of fuel due to the long distances we travel. In total, we will consume about 50 cubic meters of fuel. In addition, we will leave behind two automatic weather stations equipped with batteries, solar panels and some aluminum stakes for velocity measurements.
We are allowed to release urine and grey water, everything else is collected and separated in classes as follows; human waste, food/organic material, burnable, metal, plastic and glass. Our waste will be taken care of by the US Antarctic Program when we arrive at South Pole. While traveling through this pristine natural environment, we really appreciate the high environmental standards that exist in Antarctica.
This contribution is from the log of the Norwegian-US Scientific Traverse team, who are en route from Troll Station to South Pole Station. Much more information can be found here.
Photo: Waste water management (Photo: Stein Tronstad)