Polar ICE CAPS REGION

Climate AnatomyAn ice cap climate is a polar climate where the temperature never or almost never exceeds 0 °C (32 °F). The climate covers areas in or near the polar regions, such as Antarctica and Greenland, as well as the highest mountaintops. Such areas are covered by a permanent layer of ice and have no vegetation, but they may have animal life, that usually feeds from the oceans. Ice cap climates are inhospitable to human life. Antarctica, the coldest continent on Earth, sustains no permanent human residents.

Materials used for constructionTraditional Land Based

•Unlike just about any where else in the world, it is not really possible to build easily in Antarctica using naturally found materials (igloos aside which aren't permanent structures). There are no trees at all for instance and so no wood.

•Suitable rock is not readily found and even where it may be available, time is often of the essence meaning that building must be completed as soon as possible so that supply ships can leave before they are in danger of being frozen in.

•The builders themselves are often largely summer-only personnel who will leave with the ship. Winds and storms can upset building plans even in the relatively warmer and calmer summer months.

•For these and other reasons particularly the cost of deploying personnel and paying them to build with natural materials compared to the cost of shipping-in building materials, Antarctic bases have almost all been made using materials that were taken in a pre-fabricated form and assembled on site.

•There have been some buildings in Antarctica that have had lower walls made of dry jointed local stone, they are small in size however and from a long time ago.

•These days local stone is not considered a useful or even viable building material as its use would result in environmental degradation.

IglooAn igloo also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of snow, typically built when the snow can be easily compacted.

Although igloos are stereotypically associated with all Inuit,[2] they were traditionally associated with people of Canada's Central Arctic and Greenland's Thule area. Other Inuit people tended to use snow to insulate their houses, which were constructed from whalebone and hides. Snow is used because the air pockets trapped in it make it an insulator. On the outside, temperatures may be as low as −45 °C (−49 °F), but on the inside the temperature may range from −7 °C (19 °F) to 16 °C (61 °F) when warmed by body heat alone.

Variations in igloosThere are three traditional types of igloos, all of different sizes and used for different purposes.[

1. The smallest were constructed as temporary shelters, usually only used for one or two nights. These were built and used during hunting trips, often on open sea ice.

2. Intermediate-sized igloos were for semi-permanent, family dwelling. This was usually a single room dwelling that housed one or two families. Often there were several of these in a small area, which formed an Inuit village.

3. The largest igloos were normally built in groups of two. One of the buildings was a temporary structure built for special occasions, the other built nearby for living. These might have had up to five rooms and housed up to 20 people. A large igloo might have been constructed from several smaller igloos attached by their tunnels, giving common access to the outside. These were used to hold community feasts and traditional dances.

Side view of an igloo

Blocks layering method in an igloo

Stone hut , hope bay Swedish Antarctic expedition

Draughts sorted and insulation added - new problems arise

As insulation improved and draughts were banished, so damp inside the huts became a problem with condensation forming due to a lack of ventilation. There were also a number of near-misses from carbon monoxide poisoning again as a result of over zealous insulation and a lack of ventilation - and reliance on the direct burning of fuel within the hut for heating.

The first bases were only intended to be occupied for a short time, two summers and a winter, perhaps up to three years before being abandoned. Some were used by later expeditions, but as they had no maintenance since the original expedition left, the use was fortuitous and could not be guaranteed. They also often became buried in snow and ice which frequently had entered the building through windows that blew through in gales or doors that blew open.