Thule Air Base Arctic Construction
The minimum temperature and maximum wind velocity were not known in this part of the world when the base was planned. Therefore everything was built to the highest standards possible for temperatures of -100 F (-73 C) and winds up to 200 mph (320 km/hr). Special designs were also incorporated from lessons learned in Alaska during WWII.
Here is an overall view of Thule Air Base with Mt. Dundas and North
Star Bay in the background. While it is probably correct to state that Thule AFB became operational before 1953, it was far from being completed at that time. It was built by 5,000 to 8500 experienced U S construction workers, toiling ten hours per day and seven days per week, a majority of which were employed by North Atlantic Constructors (NAC). Later when I was there (1968) the majority of work on daily maintenance and housekeeping was done by Danish civilians. Besides the primary early alert function of the base with the huge over-the-horizon radar, the base supported international arctic research projects and outlying posts in Greenland and Canada. During the summer there were numerous scientists
and researchers coming and going on various projects. The airstrip supported
both military and civilian commercial flights from the U.S. and Europe.
Buildings that had to be at ground level, like aircraft
hangars, had double floors with cold air circulating between the two floors. All other
buildings were well above ground. This prevented the permafrost from thawing
out and drastically shifting. As long as the 1600 feet (480 m) thick permafrost
stayed frozen, Thule sat on solid ground. If it thawed, it was just a slushy
mix of water and gravel. Everything was designed to keep the permafrost frozen
as much as possible.
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All utility pipes were above ground, insulated and heated. Read a little interesting background on how these pipes were installed. |
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Could not run pipes under the road anywhere so they had to go over the road with all utility pipes and wires. |
| This building on top of North Mountain needed barrels filled with rocks to hold it down in the high winds. |
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This is a typical building on blocks to keep it well
above the permafrost. If the building heat thawed the permafrost,
probably the building would sink, shift, or tilt.
However, the little pine tree is not typical for this region. In fact this tree was the entire "Thule forest" and was brought in from southern Greenland by a C-54 flight engineer. It is the tallest tree for hundreds of miles around. The chain is to keep it from being stolen. When guys get bored they do mischievous things! Read the Thule tree saga.
One of the legends about Thule was that there was a woman behind every tree. This was the only tree, and I looked and looked for a woman. Never did find one!
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-- Smilla's Sense of Snow
-- The Frozen Echo: Greenland and the Exploration of North America.
-- Greenland's Icy Fury.
-- Greenlanders, Whales, and Whaling:
-- Lonely Planet Iceland, Greenland & the Faroe Islands.
-- An African in Greenland.
-- Arctic Homeland: Kinship, Community and Development in Northwest Greenland.
-- Greenland (World Bibliographical Series)
-- Knud Rasmussen's Posthumous Notes on the Life and Doings of the East Greenlanders
-- North Pole Legacy: Black, White & Eskimo
-- Northwest Greenland: A History
-- The Arctic: Endangered People and Places.
-- Arctic Adventure: Inuit Life in the 1800s
-- Arctic Foxes
-- Ancient People of the Arctic.
-- Arctic Son.
-- Arctic Folktales.
-- Greenland & The Arctic.
-- Seven Seasons in Greenland.
-- Greenland Expedition:
-- Building the Greenland Kayak:
-- The First Crossing of Greenland.
-- Eskimo Poems from Canada and Greenland.
-- Greenland: Island at the Top of the World.
-- The battle for Greenland.
-- Arctic Clothing of North America - Alaska, Canada, Greenland.
-- Leaves from a Greenland diary.
-- Driving to Greenland.
-- The Greenland Seal Hunter.
-- The Greenland Ice Cap.
-- The Flora of Greenland.
-- The Arctic Promise:
-- Greenland and Iceland.
-- Greenland: Past and Present.
-- Greenland Ventures.
-- Arctic Homeland:
-- Greenland Saga:
-- New Greenland.
-- Greenland Lies North
-- The ice-capped island: Greenland
-- Coast Guard to Greenland.
-- Greenland's 25 years of indigenous self-rule.
-- FROM GREENLAND'S ICY MOUNTAINS
-- The Greenland Mummies
-- Danish Greenland
-- Northwest Greenland: A History
-- Living With the Eskimos In Greenland
-- Those Greenland days
-- THE PEREGRINE FALCON IN GREENLAND
-- Greenland: a dream at the top of the world.
-- This is Greenland.
-- David Goes to Greenland
-- The Art of Greenland:
-- Hunting the Greenland Narwhal
-- Doctors Wife in Greenland.
-- Greenland in Story and Pictures.
-- THE LAST KINGS OF THULE, A year among the polar Eskimos of Greenland.
© 2007 Larry Rodrigues. All rights reserved.