Elevated Building Lift Systems on Permanent Snowfields: A Report on the Elevated Building Lift Systems in Polar Environments Workshop

Abstract : The National Science Foundation sponsored this two-day workshop to bring together international experts to discuss the history and state-of-the art of systems used to periodically lift elevated buildings constructed on permanent snowfields. Early structures permanent snowfields were typically built at the surface and became buried over time from accumulating snow. These buildings were prone to short service lives as the accumulating snow increased pressure on the structures, eventually rendering them unsafe. An accepted current practice for constructing most structures on permanent snowfields is to elevate them above the natural terrain. This technique reduces the adverse effects of annual snow accumulation, snow drifting, and snow settlement and prevents thawing of the snow foundation from the heated superstructure. To achieve cost-effective service lives, there is extra incentive to periodically lift the elevated structures and to maintain them above the ever-rising snow surface. This report summarizes lift systems used to maintain the current generation of elevated, permanently occupied polar stations above permanent snowfields.