Time in McMurdo Antarctica

What is the Time in McMurdo (USA) Antarctica?

The current local time in McMurdo is being displayed live on the Analog Clock placed above. At this time in McMurdo Research Station of USA in Antarctica the current local time is UTC+ 12:00 hours NZST or New Zealand Standard Time as per the New Zealand Time Zone on which McMurdo is located. However, McMurdo time is changed as per New Zealand DST or Daylight Saving Time which comes in force every year from the last Sunday in September till the first Sunday in April next year wherein the time is advanced by one hour to read UTC+13:00 hours NZDST or New Zealand Daylight  Saving Time. Notwithstanding the DST or no DST, the analog clock placed above will show you the correct local time in McMurdo in Antarctica.
 

About McMurdo Station at this Time in Antarctica

At this time in McMurdo Antarctic station of the United States is situated on the Ross Island, Ross Dependency which lies on the Antractic area claimed by New Zealand. At this time the McMurdo research station in Antarctica is being administered by the United States Antarctic Program through the National Science Foundation. The McMurdo research station was established on the 16th of February 1956.
 

The name of this US research station was in the honour of Archibald McMurdo who was boy who joined the Royal Navy at an age of 12 years and went on to become a Commander at an age of 19 years and a Captain by an age of 27 in 1851. His career includes two discovery expeditions the first being to the North of Hudson Bay in HMS Terror and the second one was to Antarctica during which time they discovered McMurdo Sound and named it. McMurdo retired as a Vice-Admiral.
 

In the summer months McMurdo research station can hold 1,258 people and during winter months over 250 people can be accommodated in the station. McMurdo research station of USA operates throughout the year. At this time the McMurdo Antarctic Research Station of United States of America is a branch of the National Science Foundation and is the United States Antarctic Science Facility. All the carg as well as personnel going to the Amundsen Scott South Pole Station also have to first pass through McMurdo station.
 

Air Strips in McMurdo Antarctica

At this time in McMurdo Station in Antarctica is highly functional and has three airfields to sustain it out of which one is permanent and the other two are seasonal and it has a helipad as well. This Williams Field or Willy Field ICAO approved air field has two snow runways which are on top of 8 meters or 25 feet of compacted snow which is actually floating on top of 550 meters or 1800 feet of water. The airport is just about severn miles from Ross Island. The airfield was named Williams in honour of the United States Navy equipment operator who died when his D-8 tractor broke through the ice and died of drowning on 06 January 1956. The field was relocated three times since it was built because the floating McMurdo Ice Shelf is moving towards the sea contiuously.
 

ATM in McMurdo Antarctica

There are ATM's also functioning and supported by Wells Fargo Bank in McMurdo US Antarctic Research station. Probably these are the only two functional ATM in Antarctica.
 

Nuclear Plant at this time in McMurdo in Antarctica

On 03 Marth 1962 in the McMurdo US Antarctic Reserach Station had their nuclear power plant inaugurated using prefabricated modules each weighing just about 14 tonnes and not more than 2.6 meters into 9.1 meters each were used. Also the nuclear reactor core is the size of small oil drum. A C-130 aircraft can carry all these when required. But due to some safety issues the nuclear reactor was shut down in 1972 and conventional diesel power generators are being used since then. Further, many Enercon E-33 330KW wind turbines were installed in 2009 to power McMurdo as well as New Zealand's Scott Base to reduce consumption of diesel. Fresh water comes from desalination plants around the McMurdo Plant.

Research at this Time in McMurdo Station Antarctica

There are over a hundred buildings including the Albert P Crary Science and Engineering Center. Thus science is the main focus of the McMurdo US Antarctic Research Station at this time. The station even grows a variety of fruits and vegetables in a hydroponic green house within the station. The Arcas Sounding Rockets a total of 28 of them were launched from McMurdo research station. Scientific diving protocols were established before 1960 and since 1961 diving operations commenced and are documented since November the same year.
 

Location & Climate of McMurdo Station at this Time in Antarctica

The location at this time in Antarctica of McMurdo USA Research Station is 77°51′S 166°40′E and its location can be seen on the illustration below. The climate at this time in McMurdo in Antarctica is a Polar Ice Cap Climate with the temperature always below freezing throughout the year. However, the warmest months are December and January when ocassionally the temperature may rise above freezing. The Transantarctic Mountains often protects the interior Antarctica from cold waver.
 

The highest temperature recorded ever in McMurdo Antarctica is 10.5 deg C or 50.9 deg F which happened in the month of December and the lowest ever recorded temperature was -49.4 deg C or -56.9 deg F which was in August. The yearly average yearly high temperature is -13.5 deg C or 7.7 deg F and average yearly low temperature is -20.6 deg C or -5.1 deg F. The daily mean temperature over any year has been -16.9 deg C or 1.6 deg F. The average precipitation is about 20.2 cm in a year over just 46 days and snowfall averaging to 148 cm over 181 days in a year. The average relative humidity is usually under 64% at this time in McMurdo US Antarctic Research Station in Antarctica.