Ross Island

Traveling by electric snowmobile down a typical street, a visitor to the 2100 outpost settlement of Ross Island, Antarctica sees a series of buildings in triangular clusters of three, elevated on stilts above the shifting permafrost, with dwelling spaces above and sheltered snowmobile parking and energy storage below.

Exterior walkways connect the pods at the dwelling level, allowing people to pass between them. At the edge of the residential section of the outpost, the visitor sees a band of recreational and greenhouse space, a buffer between the housing and the more industrial activities of the port. In the distance, an elevated cable car is visible, taking passengers up the mountain toward the research station, geothermal plant, and nature preserve that occupies the uninhabited portion of the island.

Ross Island is home to the world’s southernmost active volcano. Because of this geological activity, the city is able to generate a substantial amount of geothermal electricity and heat, though it also relies on offshore wind turbines and wave energy.

In 2015, Antarctica held 70 percent of the world’s freshwater supply and 90 percent of the world’s ice. In 2100, however, there is a dramatic decline in ice formation on both land and water. Because of the significant decrease in global freshwater and an increase in the frequency of droughts, the world has come to rely heavily on Antarctica for potable water.

This liquid gold was already being mapped in 2014, and a massive infrastructural investment was necessary to bring this resource to the rest of the world. For this reason, the main activity at the Ross Island settlement is freshwater harvesting of icebergs and man-made glaciers, as well as capturing ice- and snowmelt. There is also a small amount of seawater desalinization. All is then shipped to points around the globe. A storm-surge barrier protects the shipping port from extreme storms and an artificial soft edge mitigates the impact of waves.
To make up for freezing temperatures and short hours of weak sunlight, greenhouses make use of artificial light for agricultural production. Humans are as profoundly affected by lack of natural light as plants in this punishing environment, so the greenhouse farm is hybridized to form recreational and park space, in order to maximize quality of life.

People have access to greenery, synthesized sunlight, and warmth in their public and community recreational spaces. Cold-water aquaculture and fisheries also provide food locally.

A self-sufficient transportation system is available year round. Maglev high-speed trains are ideal in Antarctica, eliminating physical contact between the train and track and therefore making them less susceptible to adverse weather. Secondary modes of transportation are cable car and funicular tram, bringing people up and down from the port to the research laboratory atop the mountain, and serving as the main axis of the community. From the funicular tram, residents get off at stops connected to enclosed moving walkways that protect them from the elements. The cable car goes over the mountain and allows access to the research station and geothermal plant on the other side.

Though Ross Island’s extraction city houses some 100,000 residents, they use only about one quarter of the island; the rest is untouched, a protected natural habitat for indigenous species like seals, sea lions, and orcas.

The research station ensures quality of life for both human inhabitants and animals. Indeed, it is the study of these animals, the core specialization of the research station, that forges the special bond between human beings and nature in one of the world’s most unforgiving environments.