Anyone working in a cold environment learns quickly that heat is a precious commodity that must be conserved. Heat is transferred or lost by radiation, convection, and conduction. Radiation is heat transferred through electromagnetic waves such as thermal infrared energy. Convection is heat transfer between a solid surface and the adjoining air or liquid. As air is heated, it becomes less dense and rises, resulting in the transfer of heat away from an object's surface.
Conduction is heat transfer through solid material, such as a brick wall.
To slow the conduction of heat through an object, some form of insulation is necessary. McMurdo Research Station, which has long served as one of the hubs of scientific research in Antarctica, accommodates as many as 1,200 people during the busy summer and as few as 180 people in the winter. Another station, the Amundsen-Scott Station, is located 800 miles inland, at the South Pole. This station houses only 30 people during the winter months. The larger community at McMurdo includes scientific laboratories, repair facilities, a firehouse, power plant, water desalination plant, wharf stores, clubs, and warehouses.