The Way Things Work, Part I: Utilities

Current Conditions
Temperature: 7F
Wind Chill: -16F
Pegasus, Willey Field: Condition 1
Arrival Heights, T-Site: Condition 2
McMurdo, Scott Base: Condition 3 (of course)

First, allow me to apologize for the total lack of substance in my last post. This blog is also serving as a journal, since I haven't kept one, so the last post was primarily for my own amusement should I ever decide to read it again, which is unlikely given the history of my past travel journals. At least this one won't gather dust.

So, rather than spiral further into the esoteric corners of my own mind, I thought I'd begin a series of posts on the way things work here. I think there will be four parts, and they may come in order, but I doubt they'll come in succession.

Second, a brief status report. The weather has warmed considerably in the past few days. It has really made me realize how acclimatized I am to the cold. Suddenly, a walk through town is completely tolerable and could actually be considered comfortable. Of course, acclimatization has its own physiological implications, but I'll get to those later; Part III, I think.

Though it's nice to have temperatures above zero, the unseasonable warmth brings clouds and blowing snow. This coincides with the setting of the moon for two weeks, which I've been looking forward to because it means a darker sky in which to see auroras. We had a period of moderate aurora activity recently, and I saw several in the afternoons throughout last week. They were low on the horizon and not very energetic, meaning they basically looked like a glowing green cloud, but didn't move much. Still, they were there. But now, instead of being washed out by the moon, any auroras are hidden entirely by stormy weather.

As to the status of my own mental health, well, let's just say it comes and goes. The cold and dark are already having a noticeable affect on me, particularly energy level, but occasionally mental capacity. I'll go into more detail on these later, but I just want to say now that I'm still enjoying my time here, but I'm tired.

Ok, that was a little less brevity than I had intended for status, so on to the topic at hand; how does this place run?

Power
We currently have two power plants; the old one and the new one. Neither of these should be confused with the decommissioned and demolitioned nuclear power plant that was in use from 1962 to 1972. It is my understanding that much of the radioactive rocky earth from the former site of this plant had to be remediated and removed via vessel.

Since then, the station has been powered by diesel. The old power plant contains six turbocharged 10-cylinder diesel generators, each capable of producing 800 kilowatts:

Generally, only three or four of these would run at a time to provide the 2000 kW required by the station. For comparison, the average American home uses 1 kW, the city of New York uses 7,000,000 kW, and Doc Brown's time-travelling Delorian uses 1,210,000 kW.

The new power plant first came on line this year and consists of only two diesel generators, but they are considerably larger than the old ones; 16 cylinders and 1700 kW each. Interestingly, in an effort to conserve energy (money), the engine coolant from both plants is used to heat a glycol loop that connects to and heats many of the buildings on station. The new plant also heats the glycol with its exhaust. You can see the glycol loop running to several dorms along the bottom of this photo:

The larger steam plume on the right is coming from the six exhaust stacks of the old power plant.

Next year the station is going green (saving more money) by adding a wind turbine near Arrival Heights. I believe if it goes well, it will eventually turn into a wind farm.

Water
Our water supply is pumped right from McMurdo Sound and made fresh by a process called reverse osmosis, which is basically a fancy way of saying that it's filtered. Basically, the sea water is pressurized up to nearly 1000psi and then forced through a membrane that retains the salts, but allows the water to pass:

After the desalination process, the water is purified and has virtually no mineral content, so calcium and pot ash (potassium carbonate) are added back in, as well as whatever the old plumbing systems decide to shed into it. Our water has no chlorine or fluorine.

Sewer
Once that water has been flushed, it goes to the sewage plant (aka. Poo Palace), which is just like any municipal treatment plant:

The waste goes through a bacterial decomposition and pressing process identical to many back home. Nothing gets added to the pooey slurry, all the microorganisms that do the job are naturally present in your excrement. The water is treated to stateside standards and released back into McMurdo Sound. Treated solids are pressed into "cakes" by this machine:

These pressings are boxed and shipped back to the states, where they are not disposed of, but sold. The cake material makes excellent fertilizer, and tomato seeds that survive your intestines and the treatment are quite happy there:

Our local sewage plant operator, Mark (aka. Poo, Poo-dude, Markus Pooius, Poobacca, Perfessor Poo, Poorelius, The Emperor Poo-guin, Jacques Poosteau, Poolius Ceasar, Edgar Allen Poo, etc., etc.), is a fantastic ukulele player and a resident of none other than White Salmon, Washington. Perhaps some of you know him, and run in fear of his poo-flinging hoards!

"and flush twice or three times to ensure my beasties get their snacks!!"