Feb. 6, 2015
The Polar Star is responsible for
creating a channel through icy McMurdo Sound so that supply ships can
reach the research station and deliver a year’s worth of food, fuel, and
everything else its residents need to survive the freezing winter
months.
In order to reach the station, the Polar Star has to break through 12 miles of ice, which can be as thick as 10 feet in some places.
According to the Coast Guard’s official website, when the USCGC Eastwind
first arrived at McMurdo Sound in January 1956, the local colony of
emperor penguins had no fear of their new neighbors, and, according to a
member of the ship’s crew, some even made friends with the humans:
“This one penguin kept hanging out with various Eastwind crewmembers while they were ashore. They originally painted a bow tie around his neck and button on his chest in grease (the penguin happily complied). The penguin then wiped the bow tie away by turning his head (hence the smudge in the picture). They then painted USCG on its stomach. He apparently loved it, and held a higher place in the penguin flock because of it.”
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