<p>Antarctica is a whole continent and it is as diverse as any other continent.</p>

<p>There are two reasons buildings are often built off the ground on pillars.</p>

<p>1.- Avoid snow accumulation: Although in average Antarctica is a dry continent, in some coastal areas there can be massive amounts of snow accumulation. Building on pillars spare the buildings to get buried and most importantly allows the wind to blow the snow away. If you build on the surface, the snow will accumulate on the lee of the building. This happens even if there is very small snow fall, because wind transport the snow for long distance and the lee of a building is favourable for accumulation. Therefore, even it snows 1 mm, the millimiter that fell in all the ground 100 km upwind can end up piled behind your hut, and block your door.</p>

<p>2.- To rise buildings: Many of the bases are built on ice, and all those are buit on the accumulation area of glaciers or ice sheets. Therefore, with time the surface will rise relative to the building and will eventually swallow it. Therefore, in many cases (like the Amudsen-Scott base at the South Pole). The pillars are designed to be extended, therefore allowing to rise the building as the ice below thickens, keeping it at an optimal distance for the ground.</p>

<p>Regarding the inquiry about soil temperature, again that is too broad. Imaging asking about the soil temperature in North America, the answer would be quite different for Mexico than for Alaska. The same contrast can be found between bare ground areas of the Antarctic Peninsula at latitude 60°S and at almost 5,000 m of elevation on Mount Vinson plateau at latitude ~80°S</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-11T21:36:03.177Z
An additional consideration, frost heave will move buildings built directly on the ground, because pillared buildings do not create a thermal gradient in the ground they have no problem with it.
John
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-12T17:47:31.393Z
@John: And the individual pillars could be designed to be adjustable...
jamesqf
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-26T03:35:56.090Z
2019-02-26T05:09:16.147Z
2019-02-26T05:09:16.147Z
Camilo Rada
<p>Many online sources stresses how much the antarctic wind is dangerous for the structures and for the personnel, yet most buildings I see are built off the ground.</p>

<p>I suppose that is due to the different thermal conductivity of the air vs the ground.</p>

<p>Yet, many arctic dwelling tribes build enclosed hut on contact with the ground, as if the wind chill is actually much more dangerous than the heat lost with the ground.</p>

<p>Besides, building underground should guarantee an average temperature and/or depending on depth a better temperature for materials and people.</p>

<p>Habitats should still need insulation, but maybe they would reduce the fuel consumption to heat the habitats.</p>

<p>Could you point me towards research papers and/or data regarding antarctic soil temperature?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-25T13:18:45.417Z
please take a look at the amount of snow that does come in the antarctic area every winter,snowfall of multiple meters is not un common,and wind can move all of this snow in a very short time so if you elevate the building you avoid it beeing buried by snow.regarding data from the soil take a look here http://polarportal.dk/en/greenland/frozen-ground/  in antarctica there is little soil to freeze so i do not have the data for this.
trond hansen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-25T13:40:36.657Z
thanks for the suggestion! Actually Antarctica is a rather dry country, with total annual precipitation around 100mm liquid equivalent, so while i can definitely see why this could be a problem for heavy snowfall, i don't think it happens very often in the antarctica. [link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Antarctica#/media/File:File-Dgv-surfbal-1.gif)
Leonardo Ciferri
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-25T16:02:05.040Z
Going underground would create too much disturbance - Antarctica is still an international wilderness. In some places the snow is too deep to go underground. Also, not all all the stations are raised on stilts. The Australian coastal stations: [Casey, Davis & Mawson](http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/stations) are at ground level, on rock.
Fred
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-25T19:04:43.013Z
Most Antarctic research stations are not built on the ground, they're built on the ICE. About 9,000 ft/2,700 m of ice at the South Pole, Ice moves.  For instance, the Amundson-Scott base at the south pole moves about 30 m per year.
jamesqf
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-26T17:34:52.177Z
I'd also suggest that it's a lot cheaper to ship in prefabricated modules that can basically just be bolted together, than to support large excavation & construction crews in Antarctica
jamesqf
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-27T04:06:09.600Z
Tunnels under the South Pole for a sewage system: [About those tunnels](http://www.southpolestation.com/trivia/90s/utilidor.html) [More about those ice tunnels](http://www.southpolestation.com/trivia/00s/utilidor2.html).
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-27T11:06:44.987Z
Thanks @Keith McClary for the useful link! So, tunnels were bored into ice!
Leonardo Ciferri
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-27T16:12:14.370Z
On re-reading the first article, I think this is not ice, but "firn". According to [Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/science/firn) "Further compaction of firn, usually at a depth of 45 to 60 m (150 to 200 feet), results in glacial ice, distinguished by its impermeability to air and water. The density of firn is generally accepted as 0.4 to 0.84 grams per cubic cm". Their problems were due to the process of compaction from snow > firn > ice. They would need to go much deeper to solid ice (and even then for larger rooms they might need sturdy supports to keep the ice from "flowing").
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-11T21:37:59.433Z
its true you can get warmth from the ground but you have to dig pretty far down, far more than is cost effective for a research station. you have to get through all the ice and permafrost first.
John
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-06T01:36:47.597Z
@trondhansen Results of snow accumulation in [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR0M7KjnJTE) at 11:40 .
Keith McClary
<glaciology><antarctic>
Why antarctic research stations are built above ground instead of on the ground or underground?
Leonardo Ciferri
# Why antarctic research stations are built above ground instead of on the ground or underground?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-02-25)

Many online sources stresses how much the antarctic wind is dangerous for the structures and for the personnel, yet most buildings I see are built off the ground.

I suppose that is due to the different thermal conductivity of the air vs the ground.

Yet, many arctic dwelling tribes build enclosed hut on contact with the ground, as if the wind chill is actually much more dangerous than the heat lost with the ground.

Besides, building underground should guarantee an average temperature and/or depending on depth a better temperature for materials and people.

Habitats should still need insulation, but maybe they would reduce the fuel consumption to heat the habitats.

Could you point me towards research papers and/or data regarding antarctic soil temperature?

**Tags:** glaciology, antarctic

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: please take a look at the amount of snow that does come in the antarctic area every winter,snowfall of multiple meters is not un common,and wind can move all of this snow in a very short time so if you elevate the building you avoid it beeing buried by snow.regarding data from the soil take a look here http://polarportal.dk/en/greenland/frozen-ground/  in antarctica there is little soil to freeze so i do not have the data for this.  
> **username_0**: thanks for the suggestion! Actually Antarctica is a rather dry country, with total annual precipitation around 100mm liquid equivalent, so while i can definitely see why this could be a problem for heavy snowfall, i don't think it happens very often in the antarctica. [link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Antarctica#/media/File:File-Dgv-surfbal-1.gif)  
> **username_2**: Going underground would create too much disturbance - Antarctica is still an international wilderness. In some places the snow is too deep to go underground. Also, not all all the stations are raised on stilts. The Australian coastal stations: [Casey, Davis & Mawson](http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/stations) are at ground level, on rock.  
> **username_3**: Most Antarctic research stations are not built on the ground, they're built on the ICE. About 9,000 ft/2,700 m of ice at the South Pole, Ice moves.  For instance, the Amundson-Scott base at the south pole moves about 30 m per year.  
> **username_3**: I'd also suggest that it's a lot cheaper to ship in prefabricated modules that can basically just be bolted together, than to support large excavation & construction crews in Antarctica  
> **username_4**: Tunnels under the South Pole for a sewage system: [About those tunnels](http://www.southpolestation.com/trivia/90s/utilidor.html) [More about those ice tunnels](http://www.southpolestation.com/trivia/00s/utilidor2.html).  
> **username_0**: Thanks @username_4 for the useful link! So, tunnels were bored into ice!  
> **username_4**: On re-reading the first article, I think this is not ice, but "firn". According to [Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/science/firn) "Further compaction of firn, usually at a depth of 45 to 60 m (150 to 200 feet), results in glacial ice, distinguished by its impermeability to air and water. The density of firn is generally accepted as 0.4 to 0.84 grams per cubic cm". Their problems were due to the process of compaction from snow > firn > ice. They would need to go much deeper to solid ice (and even then for larger rooms they might need sturdy supports to keep the ice from "flowing").  
> **username_5**: its true you can get warmth from the ground but you have to dig pretty far down, far more than is cost effective for a research station. you have to get through all the ice and permafrost first.  
> **username_4**: @username_1 Results of snow accumulation in [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR0M7KjnJTE) at 11:40 .  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2019-02-26. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

Antarctica is a whole continent and it is as diverse as any other continent.

There are two reasons buildings are often built off the ground on pillars.

1.- Avoid snow accumulation: Although in average Antarctica is a dry continent, in some coastal areas there can be massive amounts of snow accumulation. Building on pillars spare the buildings to get buried and most importantly allows the wind to blow the snow away. If you build on the surface, the snow will accumulate on the lee of the building. This happens even if there is very small snow fall, because wind transport the snow for long distance and the lee of a building is favourable for accumulation. Therefore, even it snows 1 mm, the millimiter that fell in all the ground 100 km upwind can end up piled behind your hut, and block your door.

2.- To rise buildings: Many of the bases are built on ice, and all those are buit on the accumulation area of glaciers or ice sheets. Therefore, with time the surface will rise relative to the building and will eventually swallow it. Therefore, in many cases (like the Amudsen-Scott base at the South Pole). The pillars are designed to be extended, therefore allowing to rise the building as the ice below thickens, keeping it at an optimal distance for the ground.

Regarding the inquiry about soil temperature, again that is too broad. Imaging asking about the soil temperature in North America, the answer would be quite different for Mexico than for Alaska. The same contrast can be found between bare ground areas of the Antarctic Peninsula at latitude 60°S and at almost 5,000 m of elevation on Mount Vinson plateau at latitude ~80°S

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: An additional consideration, frost heave will move buildings built directly on the ground, because pillared buildings do not create a thermal gradient in the ground they have no problem with it.  
> **username_3**: @username_5: And the individual pillars could be designed to be adjustable...  

---

