Antarctica is the driest place on Earth, so even though it is cold, we have to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated here. As our water bottles remind us: hydrate or die!
But where do we get water in the middle of a frozen ice shelf? We cut and retrieve blocks of snow with a dedicated saw, shovel, and gloves (to avoid contamination). We use a sled to collect the snow blocks and then move it back to the mess tent where this is a large covered container with heating elements in the bottom.
After moving the sled back to the mess tent, we shovel the snow blocks into the blue container. The heating elements melt the snow, providing us with fresh water that we can drink and cook with. The water is pumped into the mess tent, where it feeds a spigot to fill water bottles and pitchers, as well as a small sink that has both cold and hot water for cooking and doing dishes.
