2009-10 Photos - More Updating of McMurdo

new fuel tanks

This is an excellent aerial photo taken in February 2010, it includes the Oden at the ice pier. Two other obvious things...first, the new bermed white fuel tanks in the foreground which have been constructed starting in the 2007-08 extended season. The project includes 4 2 million gallon tanks, 2 1 million gallon tanks, and a still-unpainted 2 million gallon tank used for overflow. At the very bottom of the picture is the new pump house and gas station (JH).

The second highly visible project...the blue building in the center of town. Yes, NSF decided to repaint Building 155 in a more distinctive color--which may be used for other structures as well.

painting building 155
A view of the color change in progress, but with no work being done on this snowy day. The tops of two of the new wind turbines can be seen in the background (JS/APL).
T-site building demo
Above the road to Scott Base, the huge old transmitter
building at T-site was also removed (ME).
inside the transmitter building
The transmitter site building housed the massive HF radio transmitters that were formerly used for communication (ME).
the old nuclear plant site
Up on the side of Observation Hill, the last two remaining buildings from the 1960s era nuclear power plant were being removed. This was Building 87, the "secondary building" which had housed the turbine, pumps, and other control equipment--the reactor itself, its "primary building" and lots of underlying soil had been removed in the 1970s after the plant was decommissioned in 1972. This building was removed to floor level this season (ME).
no water
Adjacent to it is the old water plant, building 126. It had its asbestos siding panels removed/abated, the rest of the demolition was scheduled for the 2010-11 season. These two structures had been used for storage for many years (ME).
hillside buildings
For comparison, here's my 1988 photo of the site. The secondary building (87) is on the left, the old water plant (126) is on the right. Between them is another warehouse (89) which was removed more recently. (I do have more historical information about the nuclear plant on this page.)

On 19 January 2010 at McMurdo, a plaque acknowledging the nuclear plant was dedicated by NSF director Arden Bement, Jr., Polar Programs director Karl Erb, and officials from the DOE. This extensive 25 June 2010 Antarctic Sun article describes the dedication...which was held in front of the Chalet. The plaque was stored in the carpenter shop over the winter and was not installed at the site until the following 2010-11 summer season. A couple of photos:

Plaque installed at PM-3A site
The plaque installed at the PM-3A plant site...the floor level foundation of the secondary building is in the background (PR).
PM-3A plaque
Here is a closer view of the plaque (PR).

Credits: JH: Joe Harrigan...JS/APL:Jeff Scaniello/Antarctic Photo library...ME: Mike Ebel...PR: Peter Rejcek.


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