Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
| Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, January 2006. |
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| Aerial view, January 2005. |
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The
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is an
American research station at the
South Pole, in
Antarctica.
It is the southernmost continually inhabited place on the planet. Its name honors
Roald Amundsen and
Robert F. Scott, who reached the South Pole in
1911 and
1912.
It was constructed in November
1956 to support the
International Geophysical Year in
1957, and has been continuously occupied since then. It currently lies within 100 meters (330 feet) of the Geographic South Pole, and drifts towards the pole at the rate of about 10 meters per year. Although the US has continuously maintained an installation at the South Pole since 1957, the central berthing,
galley, and
communications units have been constructed and relocated several times. Each of the installations containing these central units has been named the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
Snow accumulation is about 60–80 millimeters (water equivalent) per year (3 in/yr). The station stands at an elevation of 2,835 meters (9,301 ft) on interior Antarctica's nearly featureless ice sheet, about 2,850 meters (9,350 ft) thick at that location. Recorded
temperature has varied between −13.6 °C (7.52 °F) and −82.8 °C (−117 °F). Annual mean is −49 °C (−56.2 °F); monthly means vary from −28 °C (−18.4 °F) in December to −60 °C (−76 °F) in July. Average wind is 5.5 m/s (12 mph); peak gust recorded was 24 m/s (54 mph).
Original station (1957–1975)
The original South Pole station, now referred to as "Old Pole", was constructed by an 18-man
United States Navy crew during 1956–1957. The crew landed on site in October 1956 and was the first group to winter-over at the South Pole, during 1957. Since the winter conditions at the South Pole had never been measured, the station was built partially underground in order to protect it from the worst imaginable weather. The worst conditions turned out to be "mild". The low temperature during 1957 was −74 °C (−102 °F), which. combined with low
humidity and low
air pressure, is manageable with proper protection.
As with all structures at the South Pole, the original station caused wind-blown snow to build up in the surrounding area. This snow accumulation resulted in the structure being further buried by about four feet of snow per year. The station, abandoned since 1975, is now deeply buried, and the pressure has caused the mostly wooden roof to cave in. The site is therefore a hazardous area and off limits to all visitors.
Dome (1975–present)
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An aerial view of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station taken circa 1983. The central dome is shown along with the arches, and various storage containers and support structures. |
The station was relocated and rebuilt in 1975 as a
geodesic dome 50 meters wide and 16 meters high that, with 14 m × 24 m steel archways, covers
modular buildings, fuel bladders, and equipment. Detached buildings within the dome house instruments for monitoring the upper and lower atmosphere and for numerous and complex projects in
astronomy and
astrophysics. The station also included the skylab, a box-shaped tower slightly taller than the dome and accessible by tunnel. The skylab housed atmospheric sensor equipment and later a music room.
During the 1970-1974 summers, the dome construction workers were housed in
Korean War tents, or "
jamesways". These tents consist of a wooden frame with a raised platform covered by canvas. A double-doored exit is at each end. Although the tents are heated, the heating power is not sufficient to keep them at
room temperature during the winter. After several jamesways burnt down during the 1976-1977 summer, the construction camp was abandoned and later removed.
However, starting in the 1981-1982 summer, extra seasonal personnel have been housed in a group of jamesways known as "summer camp". Initially consisting of only two jamesways, summer camp now has 11 berthing tents housing about 10 people each, two recreational tents and bathroom and gym structures. In addition, a number of science and berthing structures, such as the hypertats and elevated dorm, were added in the 1990s, particularly for astronomy and astrophysics.
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The main entrance to the dome ramps down from the surface level. The dome base was originally at the surface level of the ice cap but has been slowly buried in snow drift. |
During the period in which the dome served as the main station, many changes to US South Pole operation took place. From the 1990s on, astrophysical research conducted at the South Pole took advantage of its favorable atmospheric conditions and began to produce important scientific results. Such experiments include the
Python,
Viper, and
DASI telescopes, as well as the planned 10 m
South Pole Telescope. The
AMANDA /
IceCube experiment makes use of the two-mile-thick ice sheet to detect
neutrinos which have passed through the earth. The importance of these projects changed the priorities in station operation, increasing the status of scientific cargo and personnel.
The 1998/1999 summer season was the last year that the US Navy operated the five to six
LC-130 Hercules service fleet. Beginning in 1999/2000, the
New York Air National Guard's
109th Airlift Wing took responsibility for the daily cargo and passenger ("PAX") flights between
McMurdo Station and the South Pole during the summer.
Elevated station (2003–present)
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A photo of the station in the night. The new station can be seen at far left, power plant in the center and the old mechanic's garage in the lower right. |
Construction of a new station, adjacent to the Dome, began in 1999. Features of the new station included a modular design, to accommodate an increasing station population, and an adjustable
elevation, in order to prevent the station from being buried in snow. The building faces into the wind with a sloping lower portion of wall. This angled wall increases the speed of the wind as it passes underneath, causing the snow to be scoured away and keeping the building from being quickly buried. Wind tunnel tests show that scouring will continue to occur until the snow level reaches the second floor.
In a location that receives about 20 cm (8 inches) of snow every year without ever thawing, the building's rounded corners and edges help reduce snow drifts. Because snow gradually settles over time under its own weight, the foundations of the building were designed to accommodate substantial differential settlements over any one wing, any one line, or any one column. If differential settlement continues, the supported structure will need to be jacked and leveled.
The facility was designed to be jacked up an entire storey, so the primary building columns are outboard of the walls. During jacking, a new height of column will be added over the existing columns, and jacks will pull the building up to the higher elevation.
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The South Pole cargo crew unloads passengers from an LC-130. In order to prevent hydraulic fluids and fuel from freezing the engines are kept running while the plane is on the ground. |
During the summer the station population is typically over 200. Most personnel leave by the middle of February, leaving several dozen (127 in
2005) "winter-overs", mostly support staff plus a few scientists, who keep the station functional through the months of Antarctic night. The winter personnel are isolated between mid-February and late October. Wintering-over offers notorious dangers and
stresses, as the station population is almost totally isolated. The station is completely self-sufficient, and powered by three generators running on
JP-8 jet fuel.
Between October and February, there are several flights per day of ski-equipped
LC-130 Hercules aircraft from
McMurdo to supply the station. Dimensional cargo capacity of the Hercules aircraft must be considered for all of the station's logistical support. Large scientific experiments and structures such as the new station are broken down into modular pieces and reassembled on-site. Limitations of the Hercules aircraft have been cited by the NSF as one of the main reasons for the proposed development of an over-ice ground supply route.
Research at the station includes
glaciology,
geophysics,
meteorology,
upper atmosphere physics,
astronomy,
astrophysics, and
biomedical studies. Most of the scientists work in low-frequency astronomy; the low moisture content of the polar air, combined with the altitude of over 2743 m (9,000 feet), causes the air to be far more transparent on some frequencies than is typical elsewhere, and the months of darkness permit sensitive equipment to run constantly.
In
1999, the winter-over physician, Dr.
Jerri Nielsen, discovered she had
breast cancer. She had to rely on self-administered
chemotherapy using supplies from a daring July cargo drop, then was picked up in an equally dangerous mid-October landing.
The station has featured prominently in several
science fiction television series, including
The X-Files movie
Fight the Future and the
Stargate Atlantis series premiere "
Rising". A South Pole station called Snowcap Base was the site of the first
Cybermen invasion of earth in the 1966
Doctor Who serial
The Tenth Planet.
Science fiction author
Kim Stanley Robinson's book
Antarctica features a fictionalized account of the culture at Amundsen-Scott and McMurdo, set in the near future.
The South Pole sees the sun
rise and
set only once a year, technically on the
Vernal equinox in September and the
Autumnal equinox in March respectively, but
atmospheric refraction means that the sun is above the horizon for some four days longer at each equinox. The station uses
New Zealand time (UTC+12, UTC+13 during
daylight saving time) since all flights to McMurdo station depart from
Christchurch and therefore all official travel from the pole goes through that country.
*
Polheim, Amundsen's name for the first South Pole camp.
*
NSF page on Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station*
Current weather conditions at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station*
Bill Spindler's Antarctica*
Bubble Panoramas of the South Pole*
home pages of two 2003 winter-overs*
Live webcam image from ARO*
Construction photos of elevated station*
Big Dead Place
