Use this version. Antarctica is a desert on ice. Although the continent holds more than 90 percent of the world s ice, it only averages a few inches of precipitation annually and is one of the least friendly places on Earth for human habitation. Scientists doing research work in Antarctica know they might only have one chance in a lifetime to visit the world s southernmost continent.
Winters there last six months and are without sunlight.
The summers offer little reprieve, with powerful winds that reach 80 mph in the interior and temperatures consistently below zero. Just as scientists have adapted to the harsh conditions, they have gotten used to working with technology that is older and slower than what their colleagues have back in the United States. But those days are coming to an end. By the end of this month, the National Science Foundation, in conjunction with federal and private- sector partners, will finish installing a Gigabit Ethernet network backbone in McMurdo Station, the largest of three NSF research sites in Antarctica. The installation will provide scientists with significantly faster and more reliable network connectivity.