In some ways, I start my work day like a lot of people: I ride in a van pool about 9 miles to my office. But my public transportation is a snow-worthy 15 passenger van,
and my office is a tent on the McMurdo Ice Shelf.
The tent is heated, has electricity, and even has a (slow!) computer network connection. The front half of the tent is a rather typical office space; people working on computers.
The back half of the tent is for maintaining and storing our scientific instruments.
Our tent is at Williams Field (“Willie Field”), which is an airport with runways on packed and groomed snow. The planes that take off and land here have skis rather than wheels on their landing gear.
We work at Willie Field because our scientific study relies on the use of C130 transport planes, and we need to be near them to load and unload our gear and personnel for two flights per day.
When it is time for lunch, we walk about 5 minutes to “Willie Town”.
Willie Town is a small collection of portable buildings. Two important buildings are the galley (cafeteria) and the bathroom! The other buildings support airfield operations.
At the end of the workday a van picks us up and takes us back to McMurdo Station.