South Pole
The
South Pole is the southernmost point on the
Earth.
|
Buildings have to be built on stilts at the South Pole to prevent snow buildup. The ceremonial pole and flags can be seen in the background, slightly to the left of center, below the tracks behind the buildings. The actual geographic pole is a few more metres to the left. |
The Geographic South Pole is the one of two points where the earth's
axis of rotation intersects the surface (the other being the
Geographic North Pole). This is the point usually meant when an unspecified "south pole" is mentioned.
The first humans to reach the Geographic South Pole were
Norwegian Roald Amundsen and his party on
December 14,
1911. Amundsen named his camp
Polheim and the entire plateau surrounding the Pole
Haakon VII's Vidde in honour of King
Haakon VII of Norway. Amundsen's main competitor
Robert Falcon Scott reached the Pole a month later. On the return trip Scott and his four companions all died of hunger and extreme cold. There have been many expeditions to arrive at the South Pole by surface transportation. The leaders of some of the first of these are, in order:
Amundsen,
Scott,
Hillary,
Fuchs,
Havola,
Crary,
Fiennes. US Admiral
Richard Byrd, with the assistance of his first pilot
Bernt Balchen, became the first person to fly over the South Pole on
November 29,
1929.
The fastest unsupported walking journey to the Geographic South Pole from the ocean is 47 days and was set in 1999 by explorers
Tim Jarvis and
Peter Treseder, who manhauled 200 kg sleds containing food and cooking fuel.
At present,
Antarctica is located over the South Pole, although this has not been the case for all of
Earth's history because of
continental drift. The
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was established during the
International Geophysical Year in
1958 and is permanently staffed by research and support personnel.
The projection of the south geographic pole onto the
celestial sphere gives the south
celestial pole.
The land at the South Pole is located near sea level. However, the ice cap is 3000 metres thick and consequently the Amundsen-Scott Base is a high altitude location.
|
The ceremonial South Pole. Flags of the Antarctic Treaty signatories are arrayed around it, and the Pole Station's old dome is in the background. |
The Ceremonial South Pole is an area set aside for photo opportunities at
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. It consists of a metallic sphere on a plinth, surrounded by the flags of the
Antarctic Treaty signatories. It is located a few metres from the Geographic South Pole (see above), which is marked only by a small sign, and a stake. Because the ice cap is moving at approximately 10 meters per year, the stake is replaced every year on New Year's Day.
The dome seen in the pictures is partially buried due to snow storms. The entrance to the dome has to be regularly bulldozed to uncover it. More recent buildings are now built on stilts so that the snow does not build up against the side of them.
The geomagnetic field can be approximated by a tilted dipole placed at the center of the Earth. The South Geomagnetic Pole is the point where the axis of the best-fitting tilted dipole intersects the Earth's surface in the southern hemisphere. Moreover, the pole is wandering due to the fact that the field is constantly changing.
The South Magnetic Pole is the point on the Earth's surface where the geomagnetic field lines are directed vertically upwards. Because the field is not fully dipolar, the South Magnetic Pole does not coincide with the South Geomagnetic Pole. Furthermore, the South Magnetic Pole is wandering due to the same reason its geomagnetic counterpart wanders.
On
January 16,
1909 three men (
Douglas Mawson,
Edgeworth David, and
Alistair Mackay) from an expedition led by
Sir Ernest Shackleton, found the South Magnetic Pole [
1].
It is located at on the surface of the Antarctic continent and is the most distant point from the
Southern Ocean. It was reached on
December 14,
1958 by the
3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition, led by
Yevgeny Tolstikov. At that point they established a temporary station
Polyus Nedostupnosti. On the road to the Pole, at another station,
Sovetskaya, was established by the expedition, which existed between
February 16,
1958 and
January 3,
1959.
Receiving the least sunlight being at maximum latitude, as well as a relatively high elevation (~3200 meters), the South Pole experiences very cold temperatures. At the highest latitude the sun reaches (23.5 degrees), temperatures average around -25C (-12F). However, as the day wears on and the sun gets lower, temperatures drop as well, with temperatures around sunset (late March) and sunrise (late September) remaining around -45C (-49F). In winter, the temperature remains steady around -65C (-85F). The highest recorded temperature at the
Amundsen-Scott is -14C (7F).
The south pole is a desert climate, almost never receiving any precipitation. However, high winds can cause the blowing of snowfall, which slowly buries the south pole station over time.
Average Monthly Temperatures and Precipitation (FAHRENHEIT-INCHES) for The South Pole, Antartica| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar |
Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Year |
|---|
| Avg high °F | -14 | -35 | -58 |
-63 | -64 | -65 |
-68 | -68 | -67 |
-54 | -33 | -15 |
-50 |
|---|
| Avg low °F | -20 | -44 | -70 |
-76 | -78 | -79 |
-82 | -81 | -81 |
-64 | -39 | -20 | -61 |
|---|
| Precipitation inches |
--- | --- | --- |
--- | --- | --- |
--- | --- | --- |
--- | --- | --- | 0.1 |
|---|
Average Monthly Temperatures and Precipitation (CENTIGRADE-MILLIMETERS) for The South Pole, Antartica| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar |
Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Year |
|---|
| Avg high °C | -25 | -37 | -50 |
-52 | -53 | -55 |
-55 | -55 | -55 |
-47 | -36 | -26 |
-45 |
|---|
| Avg low °C | -28 | -42 | -56 |
-60 | -61 | -61 |
-63 | -62 | -62 |
-53 | -39 | -28 | -51 |
|---|
| Precipitation millimeters |
--- | --- | --- |
--- | --- | --- |
--- | --- | --- |
--- | --- | --- | 2.5 |
|---|
Source: Weatherbase.com
*
List of Antarctica expeditions*
North Pole*
South Pole Station info on 70South*
South Pole Webcam*
Virtual tour of the South Pole*
South Pole Photo Gallery*
Current weather conditions at the South Pole (Amundsen-Scott Station)*
"A south pole adventure" - blog of a scientist at the station
*
Poles by the Australian Antarctic Division
*
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