Pegasus Road is an 18-mile (29 km) long road of dirt and packed snow constructed by the United States Antarctic Program on Ross Island and the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The trip along the road from McMurdo Station to Pegasus Field takes approximately 45 minutes in a "Delta" wheeled vehicle, although on occasion high temperatures have damaged the runway and caused the road surface to deteriorate enough to lengthen the trip to two hours.
New Zealand's Scott Base is also served by the road.
References edit
- Shoop, S. A.; Phetteplace, G.; Wieder, W. L., Snow Roads at McMurdo Station, Antarctica (PDF), Hanover, NH: United States Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, ERDC/CRREL-TR-10-5
- Peter M. Seman (September 2012), Airfield Passenger Transportation System at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, Hanover, NH: United States Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, ERDC/CRREL-TR-12-8 (includes maps)
- Ryan Wallace, McMurdo correspondent (February 28, 2011), "Open water: Break-up of sea ice in McMurdo Sound welcomes wildlife, nears airfield road", Antarctic Sun
- Rejcek, Peter (February 22, 2013), "Bumpy ride: Melt issues at airfield, snow roads disrupt transportation at McMurdo", Antarctic Sun
- Pegasus blue ice runway (PDF), National Science Foundation, October 2000, OP-M-52