Global environmental challenges from Photographers Blog: The
Arctic Ocean in March is basically an ocean of ice. Almost the
entire thing is covered from October to June in an icepack that
only partially disappears in the summer and is still very solid
in March. Why would anyone in their right mind volunteer to
spend a month to a month in a half in temperatures that usually
don’t exceed -10 degrees Fahrenheit or -23 degrees Celsius? In
the case of the roughly two dozen souls who work either for the
British, Canadian and United States Navy or the Arctic Physics
Laboratory Ice Station, it is because there is work to be done.
And the first piece of work is to physically build the camp. To
do this, firstly a piece of “multi-year” ice must be found, that
means that it is thick enough (theoretically) that it won’t
split in half and will support the weight of a camp while having
enough room for an airplane runway and helicopter landing pad.
Next, these folks need to load an antique airplane with enough
plywood and na