Preparing for weeks at -30F

Basically, there are three to four ways you can go to Antarctica: (1) as a tourist, (2) If you’re very wealthy, you can mount your own expedition!, (3) you can work for the contractor who manages the U.S. bases there for the National Science Foundation, or (4) you can go as an NSF-funded researcher. 

You don’t need permits, but you must agree to abide by the Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959 during the first International Geophysical Year, and subsequently agreed to by 50 parties. Some of the provisions are that you cannot collect anything, unless you are a funded research project, and you must stay a certain distance away from the wildlife, unless again you are a researcher studying the wildlife. Another provision of the Treaty is that Antarctica cannot be claimed by any nation and that the continent is open for scientific investigation and cooperation—basically a scientific preserve. 

It takes months to prepare for an expedition. The PI must fill out about 50 pp of forms stating what gear the team will need. Each team member provides their sizes of clothing and boots, and has to get extensive medical and dental exams. The only gear that we take are some collecting tools, e.g., geologic hammers, a gasoline-powered jackhammer, and some extra clothes, e.g., extra liner gloves and extra mittens, as collecting rocks tends to tear up your gloves and mittens. - Co-PI and curator, Edith Taylor