Where Does the Poop in Antarctica Go? | Antarctic Extremes
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- Опубликовано: 22 авг 2024
- What happens to all the garbage-and human poop-in Antarctica?
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Antarctica is home to McMurdo Station, the U.S. Antarctic Program’s base of operations, and a handful of other research stations. These stations are occupied by scientists and other staffers, all of whom generate a whole lot of waste. And every scientist and staffer, like everybody else on Planet Earth, poops. (If you didn’t know this, maybe give “Everyone Poops” a read after you watch this episode.)
Under the Antarctic Treaty System, an international agreement to protect the continent, waste of any kind-garbage, human poop, you name it-can’t be left on the continent. So what happens to it? To find out, Caitlin and Arlo embark on their most peculiar Antarctic quest yet.
At McMurdo Station, as Caitlin discovers the surprisingly scientific methods of treating sewage with Lead Waste Water Operator and biologist Yubecca Bragg, Arlo meets with Waste Program Manager James VanMatre to find out what happens to all of the outpost’s other trash. Under the guidance of these waste enthusiasts, Caitlin and Arlo meet microscopic bristle worms, water bears, the “Muffin Monster,” and a quirky fleet of forklifts nicknamed “Pickles”-and they learn that dealing with Antarctica’s trash is as rewarding as it is important.
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Hosted by Caitlin Saks and Arlo Pérez
Editor/Digital Associate Producer: Arlo Pérez
Producer: Caitlin Saks
Field Director/Cinematographer: Zachary Fink
Executive Producer: Julia Cort
Coordinating Producer: Elizabeth Benjes
Project Director: Pamela Rosenstein
Production Assistance: Matthew Buckley, Emily Pattison, Sean Cuddihy
Audio Mix: Heart Punch Studio
Director of Audience Development: Dante Graves
Senior Digital Producer: Ari Daniel
Audience Engagement Editor: Sukee Bennett
Outreach Manager: Gina Varamo
Special thanks to the United States Antarctic Program
Archival:
Aisyah, Alex Muravev, Brad Herried / Polar Geospatial Center, Dolly Holmes, Elizabeth Delaquess, National Science Foundation, Pond5, Ralph Maestas, US Antarctic Program, www.mindgraphy.com, Yubecca Bragg
Music: APM
National corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Draper. Major funding for NOVA is provided by the David H. Koch Fund for Science, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers. Additional funding is provided by the NOVA Science Trust.
Major funding for this project is provided by the National Science Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Heising-Simons Foundation, The Kendeda Fund, the George D. Smith Fund, and the Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1713552. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
© WGBH Educational Foundation 2020
"The best place in the world to be a trashman; no flies, no rats, nothing rots. "
Way more respectable than taxman, don't they
definetly has some benefits rather a trashman working in NYC
I was thinking it before he said it.
Don't you ever use supercritical water wet oxidation processes combined with multi-serial sewage comminutors, the whole thing creates it's own energy run the entire operation and is mechanically automated and self-tending. The final product is pure water that needs chlorination to make it drinkable after passing it first through an engineered marsh. Ozone is created and used on the spot to further disinfect it.
And the hybrid multi-serial sewage comminutor and anaerobic fermentation, it uses anaerobic bacterial diatomaceous earth particle fermentation tanks that has 10,000 times more surface area than a given volume of gravel.
The population of anaerobic bacteria is such that nothing toxic can eliminate them but will be anaerobically consumed and converted into biogas which is a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide which is then used to run the entire system.
It produces a clear effluent that runs through a series of anti-pathogenic plants like the aquatic mint, known also as the mentha aquatica, that exudes a lingering pathogenicide that kills all pathogens and passes also through a series of different hydroponic troughs containing all kinds of
phyto-bioremediating plants. In the end it only needs CHLORINATION to render it drinkable.
Your toilet-to-tap system.
For ALL solid wastes, HYPERBARIC INCINERATION, was developed and successfully tested in France, rendering even asbestos into harmless substances and forms.
Smartest guy on the camp
The fact that not even the scientists in Antarctica can't figure out what to not flush down the toilet is kinda sad - but at the same time very homely
They aren't all "scientists". And even when they are, that doesn't mean they know everything about everything. We go about our days mostly oblivious to what we flush, wash down the drain, and toss in the trash.
Labels lie too. A lot of wet wipes say they’re flushable but they aren’t.
@@jfbeam I don't understand -- how are we oblivious to it? Trash, maybe. But flushing & drain should never have non-organic material besides tp in it (and even then some systems don't recommend that). I don't see how you wouldn't notice what you were tossing in there.
They’re still human.. there’s your answer. They chose to be scientists in college and that’s all that makes them different from the next person. They still hide and flush condoms. They don’t give a 💩 about that. There’s like 3 double negatives in your comment somehow. Idk , just reeks man.
Does this disturb you? Are you under the impression that they are some sort of superior being?
When I was 11, my class had an excursion to a sewage treatment plant. It was actually the coolest most amazing excursion I've ever been on, and I think it really inspired me to get inspired by huge complex infrastructure systems. Today, I'm an urban planner and sustainability consultant, and I definitely think my career journey began on that one excursion.
@@merrillgeorge1838 In the UK we would probably call it a field trip.
Hahaha, in Australia we use the word "excursion" for field trip. 🤣 I didn't think anything of it but good to clarify!
Sounds like a shitty job.
Heck yeah, it’s fascinating. I toured one in college for a environmental science course, still think about it fairly often 10+ years later. No one should take for granted where their drinking water comes from and flushing water goes. My city is just about done on construction of a brand new wastewater facility and I really want to visit it though no idea how as I have no reason to other than thinking the urban life cycle of water is neato.
Yes, industrial machines and processes in general are quite amazing. Steel factories, power plants, chocolate factories, car factories. I love them all. There is so much ingenuity in them. For example the way cardboard boxes are folded automatically at the end of the production line and stamped with the batch number. And the way huge global logistic chains all come together in these places. Nobody thinks about cardboard from China, glue from Spain, ink/paint from Germany (and don’t get me started on the machine which does the folding which again consists of hundreds of parts from all over the Earth) just for the *packaging*, just for one peripheral step at the end of the production chain. All the other steps are at least equally amazing and complex.
Everyone down there should do a shift scraping out that box. Might drive home the importance of not flushing certain items down the ceramic throne.
I AGREE!
I mean they are mostly scientists doing important work, no harm in someone being paid to do it...
@@JamesSmith-pi6hi nothing like a practical lesson.
AGREED!!!!!!
@@JamesSmith-pi6hi No harm in everyone following the rules either
RUclips: Hey, want to see where poop goes in Antarctica?
Me: ....... sure. Why the hell not?
Right after I just ate too, but it's cool.
@@Andy-Mesa My friend, I am truly sorry.
smh
Lol
Don’t feel bad brother,It’s 1:30 am and I gotta be up at 7:00.am But I gotta know where the poops going.Muffin Monster this getting good.
I can't stop worrying about that nice white sweater she's wearing....
LOL! Yeah... I had the same realization about an hour into filming. And now whenever I wear the sweater, everyone is just reminded of poop. 🤦♀️
@@caitlinsaks4910 😂😂😂
same
@@caitlinsaks4910 We need to know one thing...where did you get the sweater!
Me too lol
Cringed when she wiped her nose with those gloves on 😵 5:03
I WAS TOTALLY THINKING THE SAME THING! Microbiology 101
@@MrNurseinTExas isn’t microbio usually a 300-level course
Naw youd cringe being at a actual waste water treatment plant.
The amount of days you cone home covered in some part of the cycle.
I have not felt sick since I worked at one.
@@jamesluck2969 next generation spas?
Lol having been in wastewater treatment for 10 years, this is nothing. I have seen some shit haha.
Caitlin handling that processed fertilizer with it getting precariously close to the sleeve of her sweater at 09:57.
*Nervous sweating intensifies*
Its basically dehydrated so I don't think it would leave much of a stain. Its pretty much like dry soil or sand at that point
PBS Terra getting to the HARD QUESTIONS and I am here for it
😂
Duuno these seem like rather... Soft questions.
@@SilvaDreams lol nice
Eh, they didn't seem too hard or too soft tbh. I reckon they came out just right. A few seemed a bit nutty though.
As a wastewater operator in the states, it's inspiring and humbling to know they're using the same equipment and techniques all the way in antarctica!
Respect, you guys are heroes in my eyes.
@@ILOVEDEFENDINGTHE1PERCENT facts without them it’d be shitty
This takes Another level of the notion “dealing with people’s shit”
@@pork1346 yeah like when tf did these things show up in the recommended I’ve seen some weird shit in the past few months
If u constantly avoid anything u breathe in that can cause harm, not serious harm but just mild harm ( not talking about someone with a weak immune system or breathing problems, just ur average human with average immune systems), ur immune system would not be near as strong and u would be more at risk for getting sick and dieing.
I was first attracted to this clip by sheer curiosity and must admit to being a bit reluctant to watch it, but to my surprise it has turned out to be most informative and interesting. By the end of the video, I had completely changed my mind about feeling gross at the start, but ended up full of admiration for all those involved in the cleaning processes. They really are, as refuse collectors in our cities are, the mainstays of keeping civilisation going. Those microscopic shots of the bugs consuming the sewage, gave me a whole new perspective on how much we really rely on the invisible, little guys, not only in the environment, but also within each of us, ensuring that we have the best chance of wellbeing and survival, all without any of them being aware of our existence. MAGICAL!
What did you two do to piss off PBS so very badly that they sent you to this?
Maybe they broke something or mess up a experiment. Lol
Shoot I'd volunteer for this. Sounds like a fun assignment.
I'd volunteer for it, far from a crap job, just going to Antarctica is a once in a lifetime experience.
@@anarchyantz1564 Exactly, I would be down there faster than "call me a taxi to the airport" given the chance, an absolutely amazing place. What a privilege to go on a trip like this...envious, not much!!!
@@anarchyantz1564 definitely...
I can tell you with 100% certainty that the poop at the South Pole goes into the ice because I babysat it for a year when this video went public. About 200' under the surface, there's a HUGE cavity that used to be the water source (Rodwell) that turns into the septic tank every 15 years or so when a new Rodwell is created. In about 10,000 years there's gonna be a HUGE poop-berg in the ocean. A couple actually.
How fitting that I’m watching this as I’m on the toilet...
Poop bros! 🖐️
keep making tomatoes
Very
I can not believe l am watching this to begin with.
You'd be surprised to know just how in good company you are. A RUclips channel said that it can be as high as 80% !!!
5:05 OMG!!! Even BEFORE the Covid 19 pandemic, DON'T Touch your NOSE!!! [one of the plumbers rules is not bite your nails which is sort of close].
I was a labourer for a plumber once, and on one of the first jobs we did he had to clean out a blocked drain with his bare hands, right before lunch.
I swear, without having worn gloves or even washing his hands, he ate his sandwich down without issue, his immune system must be nuclear, lol
Oddly enough, his home was absolutely spotless and clean, he would always shower and shave before the pub, and he was an insanely excellent chef.
Top bloke, but two completely different people depending on what he's up to.
Yet people eat ass...
@@Musazkhan82 lmaooo
I learned all that working in an animal shelter. Especially not touching my face or hair with gloves on.
Then I went to work in a cafe, and my coworker (may have been her first real job) had gloves on while handling food. I think she had a bagel in the toaster and while waiting on it she was wiping her hair off her forehead. I didn't see her do it but the customer did. I told her she needs to be aware when wearing gloves. Cuz at the shelter, you didn't WANT to touch anything with gloves. We'd joke about how that's when your nose itches.
man I'm surprised they never had any masks on, all the water splashing around throws stuff in the air
Agreed. Maybe this year has made me more sensible to airbourne pathogenes, but I kept thinking: "How the hell can you go in sewage treatment plant without an N95/FFP2 mask?".
@@creativedesignation7880 its normal for most workers at sewage treatment plants. I been to over 30 tours and not once i had to put on a mask or seen a mask on.
@@tbates1987 Ewww... or maybe the stuff just builds up in the mask and then keeps the yuck-saturated mask close to your face? Ewww...
@@aimeem Isn't the other option having a yuck-saturated face?
@@aimeem that's not how shet works...You have disposable masks - wear once throw away afterwards and also masks with replaceable filters so you only replace filters when necessary. If you use them as they're supposed to be used there is no buildup in masks or any reason at all not to be wearing protection...
9:04 "While Arlo wrestles with the pickle" not just poop jokes eh?
The music track was perfect for this video: Curious, exploratory, and not totally stable.
I LOVE the gigantic Oscar the Grouch on the wall of the trash building! Looks like it’s made of recycled trash too!
4:21
9:58
Aww come on guys .... almost EVERY tomato grows in dirt and poop.
Other than that ... great series! Love the atmosphere and the happy people. You've got a great team also!
Digitalzombie incinerating tomatoes is such a dump idea! Planting crops in Antarctica is such a great idea, why didn’t they recycle those scarce resources?
Yes, also the best wild chives are the ones growing directly from cow pies. But ...
Here it's processed human feces, so some human specific viri may survive the sewage water treatment.
The tomato seeds surprisingly make it past the bugs. So some eventual viri will probably too.
It would be interesting in how far viri can go through the roots of the tomato plants up and into the tomatoes.
Maybe that's why it's better to incinerate it instead of using it as fertilizer.
mechadense *viruses. The plural of virus is viruses
Thank you for having high quality subtitles on every video.
They should be wearing masks while stirring that poop around 100%
You already know the doo doo particles are everywhere in the air there... 🤢
You don't want her to fart near you.
But then they wont get that rich aroma
@@sofaking1611 lol
Masks in facilities like this are generally not allowed and you become immune to the smell rather quickly.
I've never been so interested in poop and garbage before. Love it!
Yolo swag
When that splitter box came, i literally put a hand on the video screen and meanwhile started reading comments, then after the splitter box clean i resumed watching...😅😅
wow, they make composting and sewage treatment sound like some kind of miracle
It kinda is
yay! Another video. They should movie a movie with that quote: Follow the poop
Thx again to the whole team behind this. Was nice meeting Zac and I genuinely feel happy for Arlo when he figured out the pickle.
Thank you following along... and trust me I was ecstatic when I figured it out :P
Looks like people aren't thoroughly chewing their food. Masticate people! Masticate!
imagine being born in antarctica, then you could just brag to people "I was born in antarctica"
Lol
"can you give me your passport nr.?" "3" "what?"
There are actually 11 people who were born in Antarctica! :D en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Antarctica
@@evaagoston4112 oh wow did not know that :D cool!
@@evaagoston4112 :D
You guys are amazing! Thanks for bringing such cool footage from Antarctica I'm such fun and 'digestible' science videos :)
Please more of Caitlin and Arlo. Their chemistry is great! Looking forward to more episodes.
What a fun and interesting episode! I love this series.
The patience that guy has from teaching him how to use the pickle is amazing lol
Agreed
Wow. I'm so fascinated to that poop eating microorganism.
this was really cool. I do a lot of work for various waste water plants and maintaining waste waster systems. ive helped built many systems also. its cool being able to see everything run as im usually gone by that step. i also do a done of waste water monitoring in sewers all around Phoenix,AZ. i should probably bring my go pro next time, seeing as how many people are interested in this.
Just found this channel. LOVE it. Seriously love this kind of education stuff with a little humor. Makes it so much easier to watch. Good job 💜
Water bears are called a tardigrade
Tardigrades are also called water bears!
Yeah, no wonder they're always late.
😏
@@Oceansta I can't bear your joke
@@glittle2023 😂👍🏻
Plot twist: corn was never on the menu
10:42 wait what? why? why burn perfectly good tomatoes?
things I wish I knew the answer
still wondering
No shortage of tomatoes, people would riot if they used poop tomatoes, despite the fact manure is probably used to grow tomatoes.
Why does this series not have more views? Very well done PBS and all who was involved.
I can see one reason a lot of people like living there. No kids allowed! No crying! No screaming!
If something is gross is just a perspective of what the species are able to eat. I am not able to eat grass, so I don't like to eat it.
But grass is not innately repulsive to us. Despite not being able to digest it, most people would be able to take a handful of grass and chew it up and swallow. We have evolved an innate physiological response of disgust mainly towards things that spread disease and illness, like poop, rotting flesh, certain insects like cockroaches. Its our body's way of telling us to stay away.
@@Eralen00 is it normal that i would eat grass in dig holes when i was 8
That face on the thumbnail LOL
By far one of the funniest episode that PBS came up with. Love the chemistry of those two
I probably shouldn’t be watching this while I’m eating
5:05 there's a shitter splitter.
Welcome to NOVA!
*We love scat!*
A friend of mine spent time down there in his younger days. Things were a bit more primitive back then. He spoke of a 'Mt. Pissmore', a huge mound of frozen piss. I didn't ask about any accompanying piles of other waste.
6:00 that's what she said! (I couldn't resist lol)
They wouldn’t be s*****g us about this would they. Things we always wanted to know but were afraid to ask. Great episode. Thanks.
A former co worker was there in the early 90’s. He worked in construction there. Said they got their water from snow then. They didn’t know how long before the melter hopper had been cleaned out. They found a large semi battery in the hopper. He was there multiple 6 month stints, a couple winters, and even back to back stints.
Imagine pirates commandeering that big shipping boat just to find out it's full of trash
Love the series! keep it coming :)
3:11 Wear a face mask for crying out loud. Water can easily splash into your eyes and mouth?!
All that technology with no common sense.
I just thought of how amazing it is that I can eat and watch this. Lol
That scene with the micro organs eating the poop was pretty darn cool
Just to make things clear. I started watching how Gordon Ramsey caught and cooked King Crab, and ended up with this video. I don't know how.
Welcome to RUclips. Haha.
I'll take that compost.
Very interesting video. I am 67. I want to learn one new thing each day. I just learned how people are actually caring for Antarctica !.......Thank you !
Every few months when work gets difficult, I come back to this video and dream of being as fulfilled as the man who moves trash in Antactica. It just seems like such a wonderful job to have. I do wish there was a way to do it more sustainably, though; shipping off thousands of tons of garbage each year seems like a terrible system.
This is especially hilarious to me because my gran has been to antarctica 3 times as a librarian for the researchers at Scott base. Now I can tell her that her poop might have been shipped all the way to California
5:04 Caitlin! Ewwwww
Chill
Press F to pay respect to Caitlin and Yubecca for dealing that box of turmoil
They all have a contagious positivity about them
This is how they do it now. You would be amazed to see this process back in the mid 60's
Probably something dangerous
To be honest that would be one of my dream vacations
Good to see Becca doing so well and taking good care of my Trains!! (Dear Lord that was a freakin' JOB). Miss the Ice🐧
You met her
@@amazingabby25 I worked down there for years and know Zeno, Water Plant Wendy(a great drummer btw), Al and the rest of the McM Utilities crew. Good crew, good people. Becca is a talented operator, a bit rough on trainees perhaps, but a solid operator nevertheless.
"Water...like in the toilet?"
"Yeah"
"But Brawndo has what plants crave"
Its full of electrolytes!
2:27 I'm contributing to those chunks right NOW!!! Freakin' always constipated... :-(
Incinerated?? That solid waste, from the plant. Should be excellent fertilizer. Assuming, people there are not putting household chemicals down the drain.
Remember, everything you shouldn't put down the drain, eventually comes back in your drink.
Like. Obviously it makes sense people are fucking in Antarctica. Its not like I assumed they weren’t. But hearing her say “condoms” still threw me through a loop LMAO
i watched anthony bourdain in antarctica and i was wondering the same thing. it seems like a 24hr workplace with no fun
Unrelated to the topic. I love Caitlin's sweater>
I was eating Nutella and decided to click on this...
Never again
This is the time I'm glad RUclips does not have smell-o-vision
I'm expecting cousin Eddie to say Antarctica....your shitters full!!!
Cleaning that splitter box must be tons of fun. Ha ha! But I was really fascinated by the tomatoes sprouting.
Umm, gee, thanks?
Sincerely, a Californian
Mike Rowe would be proud of this episode)))
Gong farmer. . .oldest job ever invented😂the devil's tea cup is at 5:40
The fact that this is under my recommendations.
That would be an excellent place to put a plasma furnace to deal with their waste
Me : Eating
My brain : *I've decided to click on this video*
I had an astrobiologist friend I met at JPL in Pasadena CA. We made fun of each other's fields. I told him he has nothing to study as an astrobiologist. I studied bio-engineering and he would ask if I had built any new life forms. He was sent to McMurdo base where this video is being filmed and he was genuinely sorry I wasn't invited after applying to engineer life support systems for growing plants, but they said that no one was interested in eating food fertilized with recycled poop.
He really tried to get me on with him in his field too, but it was a no go and the funny thing is is that they ended up needing an engineer with a biology background. My next job was working on the Space Shuttle program so not too bad, but I never made it to Antarctica. If you go on a cruise ship down there it's like fifteen grand for a long flight to Chile and a long rough ride by ship and 6 days at best of exploring the coasts and helicopter ride or two.
This was exactly the video I was looking for after watching the Antartica food video
that water bear did look pretty snuggly
Arlo is used to wrestling his own pickle at least.
Years of experience.
One of the coolest videos I've seen in awhile
wastewater plants are truly amazing. I had no idea until I went on a field trip to one when I was earning my C wastewater license. What comes out the other side of the plant is mostly potable water, but it is stigmatized; so it is simply not done. To get it that clean and keep it that clean takes constant monitoring of what comes into the treatment facility. I learned why putting bleach or other chemicals into the wastewater is a horrible idea.
I salute you, Kaitlyn. That was disgusting.
Finally someone addresses the elephant in the bazar! Have watched many videos on Antarctica and everyone avoided the subject.
I'm surprised how being in the preserved continent destined to scientific research, they don't classify black waters (toilets) from grey waters (showers, dish washers, sinks etc). They could easily recycle the grey waters and reuse it! After all, it's a scientific station and should take care of the environment.
Btw, having 1000+ people every year, doesn't contribute to preservation. I'm sure they could cut down the numbers significantly and respect the Antarctic Treaty. It's not a holiday resort after all. This goes to other countries too.
9:05 While Arlo wrestles with the pickle
The strange part is I was actually wondering this, and wow I typed it in and here it is! Thanks for this great publication!
I love watching people's reaction to waste water processing. It goes where all poop goes in any major population center... the treatment plant. The only difference here is where the final product ends up -- shipped it back to CA, because of treaties. Elsewhere it's incinerated, buried, or sterilized and used as fertilizer. (note: there are regulations because of the serious health issues with human waste. Not just biological concerns, but also possible chemical contaminants, i.e. medicines, etc.)
They become ice creams
@yeshwanth outlaw someone's sad they didn't get their chicken tenders
Back in the day we peed in 55 gallon drums and pooped in plastic bags. trash was burnt and then pretty much left as is.
I would real love to spend a year there especially see it before all the ice melts
Arlo looks really cute in a beanie 😍
It would be a lot easier if in such episodes there would be some on-screen translations of numbers from imperial to metric. Pausing to check it non stop is annoying.
It's obvious they're just making fun of Arlo. They shoved him onto a task that requires a bit of experience with counterbalance to pull it off.
If he kept the forks level as he came out of the pallet, then when the back-wheels of the truck came down as they ended up out of the container it changed the angle at which the forks sit inside the space in the pallet.
What you would need to do is apply forward tilt just enough to bring the forks back into being level with the pallet, and raise the forks just enough to gently touch the underside of that pallet, and then, while the truck is coming out of the container the front-wheels are coming down, and without doing the previous step, the forks smack onto the floor and puts unnecessary strain on the hydraulics, then you just apply backward tilt to bring the forks level with the floor and drive safely away from the container.
This is pretty simple stuff for "Trained personnel", I hope Arlo doesn't feel that he's bad at it, he's just lacking experience.
Kinda makes me wanna live in Antarctica, what they described in the video sounds like a good place to live.
This informs our design on vehicles for space travel as all consideration must be paid to the closed system in which human will find themselves.