Life at Palmer Station
When I arrived at Palmer station it was a very cold day. The ground was covered with snow and ice. The temperature outside was –10 degrees Celsius (–10 o C).
The living conditions at Palmer Station are not very fancy. The U.S. Navy built the buildings about 40 years ago. They are all made of metal and are not very pretty to look at. The people who live and work at the station sleep in small rooms with bunk beds. Two people share each room. Each floor has only two restrooms and showers, one for the men and one for the women.
During the Austral summer , about 40 people live and work at the station.
During the Austral winter , only about 20 people stay. Although scientists can still work during the Austral winter, the days are very short with only three hours of light every day. This limits the amount of work that can be accomplished outside. This reduced amount of daylight occurs because the Antarctic is tilted away from the sun during the Austral winter. The scientists work hard while they are at the station. They only have time off when they are not running experiments. I worked long hours, but had a lot of fun too.