Journey North Mystery Class Spring 2006

Introducing Mystery Class #6-- South Pole Station, Antarctica
(90.00 S, 172.633 E)

Greetings from the Antarctica!

Are you ready to see the secret location? Great! Come on "down"!

We are located on the continent of Antarctica, Earth's southern polar region, and the place that most view as the highest, driest, coldest, windiest continent on Earth. Although many people believe Antarctica is one big, freezing cold region, the truth is that there are different climates and habitats within Antarctica.

At the lesser latitudes of Antarctica, such as where McMurdo Station is, the weather is less severe, and so the habitat supports some very remarkable animal life. There are lots of seals and majestic emperor penguins like these in the photos.

Happy Seal

Young Emperor Penguins

However, our location here at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is 90 degrees South latitude, much further south. In fact we're all the way at the bottom of the Earth. Therefore, the weather is far more extreme, and the habitat does not support any wildlife. So, unlike other U.S. Antarctic stations, we do not have any wildlife here.

The South Pole station sits on the Polar Plateau at an elevation of over 9,300 feet, most of which is ice. The environment is extremely arid, such that it is a desert here, which limits annual snowfall. However, a relatively constant wind speed of 5 - 15 knots compounds the accumulation and accounts for the heavy snow drifting common to inland Antarctic stations. The surrounding terrain is virtually flat--everything is flat for miles in every direction we look. When the wind blows it sculpts the snow into beautiful mound shaped features called sastrugi.They can make walking around very difficult sometimes though, because sometimes they are a few feet high.

The surrounding terrain at the South Pole is virtually flat, except
for these wind-driven sculptures called sastrugi.

The South Pole Station is one of three research stations run by the United States in Antarctica. Antarctica does not belong to any country. Different nations "claim" different areas of the continent. These nations include Chile, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Norway, and many others.

The core of our station has historically been located beneath an aluminum geodesic dome, 165 feet in diameter and 55 feet high. The Dome provides a windbreak for three two-story structures that contain living, dining, communications, recreation, laboratory, and meeting facilities.

Entrance to the Dome

Inside the Dome

However, in the last few years, progress has come to the Pole, and a new station designed to combine the current below-surface facilities with new, elevated facilities has been completed. The new station houses additional station support facilities, including a new plant growth chamber and a large gymnasium. The prior support systems will continue as they were--buried arches house the power plant, fuel storage, cargo, warehouse and waste management facilities.

The new elevated station

Another view of the
the new station

October through February is the summer season here at Pole (the opposite of summer in the Northern Hemisphere). The sun is continuously up during this time, and the temperatures are generally around -10 to -30 degrees Fahrenheit.This is an amazing place to study the universe and the stars up above. Beautiful sundogs appear around the sun in the summer because of the ice crystals in the air here. The ice sparkles all the time. And having 24 hours of daylight during summer is interesting to get used to. It is easy to wake up in the mornings. All one has to do is rip open coverings on a window and the LIGHT comes shining through. No snoozing or sleeping after that bright light comes beaming in.

In contrast, during the winter months from March until early October, it is DARK here 24/7. The sun usually sets here around March 21st, and it becomes progressively darker after that. In winter, we look forward to the night sky with all of the stars. But, when the sky clears up enough to see the stars, the temperatures also drop. A typical day might be -66.5 F with the windchill factor dropping the temperatures to -96F. We still expect the temperatures to drop to below -100 F here before the winter season is over.

In such a cold place, getting up each morning is a process. Most sleep with many layers on their bed...1st the flannel sheets, then the army-issue looking wool blanket, then the TWO down comforters. Many use an additional wool blanket folded up as a "throw rug" to dampen some of the cool shock in those early morning rises. Your boots can't be left on the floor throughout the evening, as they will be much too chilly to pull on with any sort of comfort level being attained.

During the day, long underwear is a standard 1st layer. And a long underwear top too. Jeans or khakis on top are enough for walking to the bathroom or to The Dome. If you are working a job working outside, you would certainly have to wear the bunny boots and the Carhartt Bibb Overalls, along with a parka, and a few more layers thrown in. On days where you go walking outside, you gear up with all of the extreme cold weather gear. The correct clothing is essential here where the temperatures average -58* F.

The purpose of maintaining the South Pole Station is in support of many scientific studies sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The polar regions have been called Earth's window to outer space. We can find out Antarctica's role in global environmental change through some of the studies that are currently taking place here. Antarctica is an amazing place to study glaciology, geology, geophysics, aeronomy and astrophysics, and oceans and climates, and astronomical studies as well as studies of the Ozone hole.

During the summer time there are about 220 inhabitants here, with about 600 people coming to visit here between late October and mid-February. Around February 15th of each year, the summer people depart on the last plane that we will see until sometime around October 21st, when the station re-opens after the winter season. Until that time, the 50 or so people living at the station are isolated from the rest of the world, i.e. no flights can arrive here, and no new supplies can be brought in.

The food is too good here, and the galley is a great gathering place. In fact, the South Pole Station is very famous for its Chocolate Chip Cookies, and the pilots who fly the C-130's here always request a delivery of these cookies when they arrive. Want the Recipe? See the link below.

What the Pilots Crave! Do you?
Try them yourselves

We always look forward to the delivery of "freshies", fresh fruits and vegetables from New Zealand. It is important that these items, along with many others, do not freeze on the plane ride down here, or sitting out on the cargo line.

There are movies and DVDs galore around here; these seem to be the big form of entertainment. We have a rock climbing gym, a pool table, a pretty thorough library, a basketball court, ping pong, ultimate Frisbee, chess tournaments, cribbage games, snow skis to check out, snowshoes, horseshoes, a gym with treadmills, bikes, leg machines and free weights.

As you know it is flat here, as this is the highest, driest, coldest, windiest continent on Earth. The bulldozers are constantly moving snow around the station and trying to get it out of the way. In doing this, they create white "mountains" for us, so we actually have some topography, after all. Small groups go sledding!

Talk about pure, childish fun. Not a care in the world except if we would make it down the next hill in one piece or not. There are banana sleds all over "campus" for toting things. We borrowed a nice big sled and toted it up a nice hill. One by one folks would jump on and take the ride of joy down. Amazing how far you can slide on this ice!!! At one point we had to carefully balance the sled at the top so all 5 of us could fit on at once. Girls in the middle & guys on the front & the back. Nervous and excited, we all hoped for the best & screamed the whole way down. We did it!!! Simple fun at the South Pole. It was exhausting pulling the sled back up so we could slide down again, but worth the effort.

We hope someday you will have the opportunity to visit or work at the South Pole. It is truly a magnificent place to experience.