Investigations on Deterioration in the Historic Huts of the Ross Sea Region of Antarctica

University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

The explorers of Antarctica's heroic era erected buildings and brought large amounts of supplies to survive the extreme environment during their Antarctic exploration. Huts built by Robert F. Scott and Ernest Shackleton during the early 1900's were abandoned once the expedition was over, leaving the huts and thousands of artifacts behind. The extreme polar environment has protected many of the artifacts from rapid decay but over the past nine decades, serious deterioration has become apparent. Results obtained through preliminary studies indicate that unique wood destroying fungi are decaying wood in the contact with the ground and various molds and cellulose degrading fungi are attacking artifacts made of leather, textiles and other organic materials. Exterior woods are also being deteriorated by non-biological deterioration processes including salt, ultraviolet radiation and wind erosion. Chemical damage within the huts and soils contaminated with aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum products have also been found. This project will identify the biological and non-biological agents responsible for causing the deterioration, study mechanisms and progressive sequence of events taking place during decay processes, test methods to be used to control future deterioration, determine the extent of environmental pollutants in soils at the historic site, and evaluate chemical spills within the huts. The research will provide the scientific data required by conservators to help protect these important historic site for future generations. It will also add to the knowledge of the biology of Antarctic microorganisms, the biodiversity of microbes present in this unusual environment, and elucidate unique deterioration processes.