I'm not clear whether all water is rationed down there, or only hot water.
I'm not clear whether all water is rationed down there, or only hot water.
Water isn't exactly rationed -- people are just asked to minimize.
To be clear, there is a LOT of water (the station sits atop two miles/3km of the purest ice). What's really being rationed is energy, which is very, very expensive there (the rough calculation I've heard is 10x non-Ice prices, others would know better).
The only part I'm struggling with a bit with is "10x non-ice prices". What does this mean? Are you able to indulge me in additional explanation? Thanks again.
The generators are actually quite efficient. Water is heated as a byproduct of electricity production. I think it's by recovering heat from the engine exhaust.
Antarctica is colloquially referred to as "Ice".