SUSTAINABILITY AND HABITATION IN ANTARCTICA by Scott Harris Friend A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture in Architecture MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Bozeman, Montana November 2009 ©COPYRIGHT by Scott Harris Friend 2009 All Rights Reserved ii APPROVAL of a thesis submitted by Scott Harris Friend This thesis has been read by each member of the thesis committee and has been found to be satisfactory regarding content, English usage, format, citation, bibliographic style, and consistency and is ready for submission to the Division of Graduate Education. Christopher Livingston Approved for the Department of Architecture Dr. Fatih Rifki Approved for the Division of Graduate Education Dr. Carl A. Fox iii STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree at Montana State University, I agree that the Library shall make it available to borrowers under rules of the Library. If I have indicated my intention to copyright this thesis by including a copyright notice page, copying is allowable only for scholarly purposes, consistent with “fair use” as prescribed in the U.S. Copyright Law. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this thesis in whole or in parts may be granted only by the copyright holder. Scott Harris Friend November 2009 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. GEOGRAPHY…………………………………………..………………………….1 2. LARGE SCALE CLIMACTIC CONDITIONS........................................................5 3. ANTARCTICA OF THE PAST………………………..…………………………10 Early Explorations……………………………………………………………….10 Whaling and Sealing……………………………………………………………..16 Early U.S. Expeditions…………………………………………………………...16 International Geophysical Year………………………………………………….18 The Antarctic Treaty……………………………………………………………..19 Territorial Claims ………………………………………………………………..20 4. MODERN ANTARCTICA…………………..…………………………………...22 5. TRANSPORTATION………………………..……………………………………24 6. PRECEDENTS……………..……………………………………………………..28 Princess Elisabeth Station………………………………………………………..28 SANAE IV……………………………………………………………………….34 7. PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS……..……………………………………………40 Design Responses………………………………………………………………..40 Reactions to Isolation…………………………………………………………….42 8. TECHNOLOGY…………..………………………………………………………44 Wind……………………………………………………………………………...44 Photovoltaics……………………………………………………………………..47 Energy Storage…………………………………………………………………...49 Solar Thermal Collectors………………………………………………………...51 Waste Management………………………………………………………………52 HVAC ……………………………………………………………………………54 Materials …………………………………………………………………………55 v TABLE OF CONTENTS – CONTINUED 9. SITE …………………..…………………………………………………………...57 Parameters………………………………………………………………………..57 The Gruvleflesa Knolls…………………………………………………………..57 Site Climate............................................................................................................62 10. PROGRAM………………………………………………………………………63 11. CODE ANALYSIS………………………………………………………………65 12. CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………..67 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................68 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Antarctica Map …...............................................................................................1 2. Ice Sheet Thickness Map …...............................................................................2 3. Elevation Map …................................................................................................2 4. Axial Tilt Diagram ….........................................................................................5 5. Atmospheric Circulation Diagram ….................................................................6 6. Monthly Temperature Chart …..........................................................................7 7. Precipitation Accumulation Map …...................................................................9 8. Mean Near-Surface Winds Map …....................................................................9 9. Antarctic Territories Map …............................................................................21 10. Princess Elizabeth Plan …...........…...............................................................31 11. SANAE IV Plan and Sections.........................................................................36 12. Ultracapacitor Diagram …..............................................................................49 13. Waste Management System Diagram …........................................................53 14. Superglass Quad Diagram …..........................................................................56 15. Queen Maud Land Map ….............................................................................58 16. Sun Path Chart …...........................................................................................62 17. Sunlight Chart …............................................................................................62 18. Monthly Climate Chart …..............................................................................62 vii ABSTRACT In the extreme climate and isolation of Antarctica, much of the built environment exists only as an assemblage of sterile boxes placed in the landscape without consideration of the needs of their occupants or their impact on the environment. In an area of limited resources, an abundance of solar and wind resources is seldom utilized to its full potential. Scientists and support crews spend months at a time living in isolation within the confines of small outposts and stations. Confinement in cramped and impersonal surroundings in this hostile environment can have devastating effects on the health and well-being of research teams and crews. The designs of many facilities rarely venture beyond the minimum programmatic requirements, failing to explore the possibility to become something more. The purely functional engineer’s design approach, focusing heavily on initial cost, has been the mainstay of Antarctic architecture until recently. This attitude is beginning to be challenged by designs that focus on sustainability and the psychological impact on their inhabitants. Isolation and climactic conditions should not serve as an excuse for an incohesive atomistic design, but as motivation for a responsible, holistic solution. The technology exists to drastically reduce our negative environmental and carbon footprint in Antarctica by creating more responsible research facilities that fully utilize available renewable energy resources, while providing a superior working and living environment that meets the physical and psychological needs of its occupants. During the austral summer of 2008-2009, the world’s first zero emissions polar research station is set to open. The innovative design of the Belgian Princess Elisabeth station can be used as a model for studying the potentials of sustainable and climactically adapted architectural design in Antarctica. I propose to further explore the possibilities of renewable energy, waste management, and prefabrication to design a zero emissions research facility with minimal impact that is responsive to its environment, while adequately providing for the needs of its occupants within the unique and extreme conditions of the Antarctic. 1 GEOGRAPHY The continent of Antarctica lies shrouded in ice and snow. 98% of its surface is buried under the massive Antarctic ice sheet. 2 Its few High mountain peaks and volcanoes protrude from expansive snowfields and glaciers, creating some of 1 the most spectacular scenery on earth. Antarctica is broken up into two main geographical regions: East Antarctica and West Antarctica. These two regions are separated by the Trans Antarctic Mountains. The Bedrock that makes up the continent lies largely above sea level in East Antarctica and is made up of geologically old and stable formations. In West Antarctica, however, much of this bedrock is well below sea level, containing more recent formations fueled by volcanic activity. It contains the continent’s only active volcanoes, including Mount Erebus near MacMurdo Station. Both regions consist largely of vast flat expanses of snow and ice, providing little sense of scale or direction. Figure 1 2 The ice sheet covers an area of over five million square miles and contains approximately 70% of the earth’s freshwater. 1 At its thickest the ice reaches 15,650 feet in depth, with an average thickness of 6,500 feet. 2 Its layers contain a frozen library of our planet’s past going back over one Figure 2 million years. The ice sheet rises rapidly from the coast to elevations over 13,000 feet in the interior polar plateau, creating two prominent domes of ice. These domes, named the East and West Antarctic Ice Sheets, are made up of a dynamic system of ice Figure 3 streams and glaciers. As snow is deposited in the interior it slowly compacts to form glacial ice and begins to flow towards the coast. Large ice streams drain into the ocean creating enormous floating ice shelves that cover much of Antarctica’s coast, including the Ross and Ronne Ice Shelves. Billions of tons of ice break off of the outer edges of the ice shelves each summer, forming high ice cliffs along much of Antarctica’s coastline. This break-off results in 3 massive icebergs. During the winter, these icebergs become locked in sea ice as the surrounding water freezes, often stretching for miles from the coast. As temperatures rise during the summer, the sea ice begins to break up, forming free floating