Status: Live

Refreshing in 30 seconds...

Status: Live

Refreshing in 15 seconds...

Status: Live

Refreshing in 20 seconds...

Arrival Heights Camera

Observation Hill Camera

McMurdo Pier Camera

McMurdo Station seen from the summit of Observation Hill.

The McMurdo Station Webcams

The Arrival Heights Webcam is located on the edge of Arrival Heights just north of Hut Point on the west side of Hut Point Peninsula. During Austral Summer the camera's view is zoomed out, showing fuel storage containers in the foreground, and housing, maintenance, and administrative facilities in the center. Observation Hill (Ob Hill) appears in the background with views of McMurdo Sound and the Trans-Antarctic mountains behind it.

The Ob Hill Webcam is located at the base of Ob Hill, a very large feature adjacent to McMurdo Station. It is approximately 750 feet (230 meters) high and climbing it is similar to walking up 40 flights of stairs. On a clear day, it offers a good view of the station. The Ob Hill camera is focused on McMurdo Station with a view showing the Crary Science and Engineering Center in the center, McMurdo Sound and the pier to the left, and several dormitories to the right.

The McMurdo Station Pier camera (seasonal, typically available during vessel operations in January and February) shows views of the Ice Pier, McMurdo Sound, and Victoria Land beyond. Vessels providing essential services to the station--such as icebreaking or cargo and fuel delivery--can be seen docking at the Ice Pier.

For information about current research conducted in or near McMurdo Station, see the NSF McMurdo Station and Vicinity Research Projects page.

NOTE: Camera images are often obscured due to harsh and unpredictable weather conditions.

McMurdo Station (77°51'S, 166°40'E), the main U.S. station in Antarctica, is a coastal station at the southern tip of Ross Island, about 3,864 km (2,415 miles) south of Christchurch, New Zealand, and 1,360 km (850 miles) north of the South Pole. The original station was built in 1955 to 1956 for the International Geophysical Year. Today's station is the primary logistics facility for supply of inland stations and remote field camps, and is also the waste management center for much of the U.S. Antarctic Program. Year-round and summer science projects are supported at McMurdo.

The station has a harbor, landing strips on the sea ice and shelf ice, and a helicopter pad. The three airfields-the annual sea-ice runway, Pegasus White Ice Runway, and Williams Field Skiway-are used at different times of the year for different reasons. Repair facilities, dormitories, administrative buildings, a firehouse, power plant, water distillation plant, wharf, stores, clubs, warehouses, a science support center, and the first-class, 4,320 square-meter Crary Lab are linked by above-ground water, sewer, telephone, and power lines.

The mean annual temperature is -18°C (0°F). Temperatures may reach 8°C (46°F) in summer and -50°C (-58°F) in winter. The average wind is 12 knots, but winds have exceeded 100 knots.

Research in multiple fields is performed at and near McMurdo Station, including Aeronomy and Astrophysics, Organisms and Ecosystems, Earth Sciences, Glaciology and Glacial Geology, Integrated System Science, and Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. Participants of the Antarctic Artists and Writers Program also work at sites in the area. For information about projects supported at McMurdo Station--and based from McMurdo, such as deep field projects in East and West Antarctica--see the USAP Science Planning Summaries on the Science Support page. Historical information on previous seasons can be found at the Science Planning Summaries Archives.

To find out more about life at U.S. Antarctic research stations, see the Around the Continent section of The Antarctic Sun.