United States Antarctic Program Field Manual (2024) [pdf] (opens in new tab)

The version of this that we had when I worked on Erebus (2009-2017) was more fun.

It had a section about crossing crevasses with combinations of sleds and snomobiles and tracked vehicles, crevasse rescue etc. In the middle of otherwise serious text it said "to recover from this situation, you might elect to [something], or possibly [something else]. Either way, a change of underwear is recommended."

If people want I can try to dig it up.

EDIT: found it. p244. https://www.eol.ucar.edu/sites/default/files/files_live/priv... It's really interesting to compare these and see how USAP's risk posture has changed. No more adventures allowed.

Related: a cool blog from a year or two ago from a participant in this program: https://brr.fyi

Shameless plug: People into this sort of thing might be into my partner's book coming out in April. It's a beautifully written blend of science writing (penguin biology), memoir, and terrifying asides from the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. Her accounts of the wackiness of living and working out of McMurdo are really fun to read, and include all the orientation and training for which this manual was written (though she was there in 2003). And the history stuff is just hair raising.

One of my favourite lines: "There are many ways to die in Antarctica."

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/796661/where-the-ear...

(That's the Canadian publisher link, but it's coming out at the same time in the US, UK, Germany, Australia, and Russia as well, and is on all the major book things as preorder).

I was down there recently on a helicopter-based expedition and they set up a forward base of operations with a few days of emergency rations in case of unexpected weather that prevents you from returning to ship. I asked them what happens if the blizzard lasts more than a couple of days. Someone somewhere has a recipe book for penguins.

Do NOT let strange dogs into the base.

I find it neat that even in a climate as hostile as the Antarctic humans still make an effort to recycle.

> Field Camp Hut Etiquette

> Sort and pack all trash and recycled materials and take them back to McMurdo Station for proper disposal.

That “orange” bag has seen better days.

For waste management, x-org server/windows tiling, either for USAP risk aversion or wing aircraft GIS systems that are programmed in UNIX, are the long-leverage hold of -CTU static-build boundaries.