Antarctica (novel)
Most of the story is centred on McMurdo Station, the largest settlement in Antarctica, which is run as a scientific research station by the United States. Robinson's characteristic multiple-protagonist style is employed here to show many aspects of polar life; among the viewpoints presented are those of X, an idealistic young man working as a General Field Assistant at McMurdo; Val, an increasingly embittered trek guide; and Wade Norton, who works for the Californian Senator Phil Chase (Wade and Phil also appear in the "Science in the Capital" trilogy). As well as McMurdo, the story involves the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, the Shackleton Glacier, the McMurdo Dry Valleys and a South American drilling platform near Roberts Massif.
A. B. Dobrowolski Polar Station
The research station was built by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1956 and named "Oazis" (Оазис, ). The station was handed over by the Soviet Academy of Sciences to the Polish Academy of Sciences in January 1959. It was manned briefly by the Polish expedition, which carried out a number of studies, primarily in the fields of gravimetry and geomorphology. The station has not been used regularly since, due to the lack of funds and the high costs of air transport, and there are no plans to reopen the station as a permanent institution. The station has been visited periodically by Polish and other research teams. The last Polish team was reported to have visited the station in the 1960s or 1970s (sources vary). A 1998 Polish statistical yearbook described the base as "periodically active". Official classification of the station is "inactive". The station is only occasionally visited by tourists, such as those who documented their visit in 2010.