"Summer only" human populations in Antarctica

[Particle_Man]

I read Rucka's White Out and that described an Antarctic community where people lived year round. But I imagine that some places are colder than others on that continent. Are there places where people move in in the summer and then move out in the winter, leaving it with 0 population then?

 

[Tonguez]

you mean other than Scientist?

McMurdo has a winter population of around a hundred, rising up to a thousand in Summer. There's a couple of other permanent Bases on the Ice too

Esperanza Base, on the Antarctic Peninsula gets temperatues of 17C, so with global warming might be habitable.. Esperanza base is also notable for being the only place in Antarctica where human babies have been born

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, there were the ancient Summerians.

(I’ll see myself out now.)

 

[Eltab]

I suppose fishermen or hunters might be able to do that. (Good luck getting an 'indigenous people' exemption to the international treaty that prohibits exploiting Antarctica for financial gain.)

There is also a small population of Global Warming Activists who do not understand that US/Europe summer = Antarctica winter, and regularly get trapped in sea ice. If we quit rescuing them, they could become permanent residents.

It is theoretically possible (Eskimo/Inuit have the cultural background to make a serious attempt), but I'm not aware of anybody actually trying to make a living on Antarctica or any offshore isles.

 

[Tonguez]

I suppose fishermen or hunters might be able to do that. (Good luck getting an 'indigenous people' exemption to the international treaty that prohibits exploiting Antarctica for financial gain.).

In 1886 a fragment of pottery, similar to early Polynesian work was discovered on Antipodes Island, which is sub-antarctic but still 3000km north of Antartica proper.

Nonetheless there are at least two stories of Polynesian visits to Antarctic waters. The first was deliberate exploration (and first discovery) which saw icebergs and floes and seas covered in 'arrowroot'. That crew, lead by Uiterangioa, made it home again to Rarotonga and would be the best evidence for an indigenous peoples claim.

The second story is a 'lost ship' tale and speculation about distant lights from signal fires far to the south, possibly on the subantartic islands, though it may also just be a myth to explain the Aurora Australis

 

[freyar]

Even Amundsen-Scott station at the South Pole has a (small) winter population. I've known one or two people who've wintered there. It sounds like a wild experience.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I'm sure the lost city under the ice beyond the Mountains of Madness is inhabited year-round.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

For those looking for an account of life at McMurdo Station, I’d heartily recommend the late Nicholas Johnson’s Big Dead Place. It's quite readable and fascinating.