Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station

The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is a research facility on the Antarctic ice sheet. It is named for explorers and adventurers Roald Amundsen and Robert F. Scott, who reached the South Pole in 1911 and 1912. While construction of the initial structure began in 1956, it has been rebuilt to meet changing scientific needs over the years. In the twenty-first century, the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station includes an atmospheric research observatory, an astrophysics observatory, and research and communications computer systems. It houses up to 150 people in the summer and about 50 in the winter.

Antarctic research is essential to understanding climate change and its effects. The 2.4-mile (4-km) thick ice contains climate data covering one million years. The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station has the longest continuous set of meteorological data from the interior of the Antarctic. The high elevation and low temperature and humidity at the site also benefit astronomy and astrophysics research.

Background

Scientists long ago suspected that a large land mass was located at the South Pole at least since the eighteenth century because of the presence of icebergs in the Southern Hemisphere. The existence of Antarctica was confirmed in early 1820 when Russian and British expeditions spotted ice shelves. This set off a flurry of effort as explorers raced to be the first to land on the continent and reach the South Pole. Norway’s Roald Amundsen accomplished that goal on December 14, 1911, leaving behind a tent that Britain’s Robert Falcon Scott and his party found about a month later. Amundsen returned to civilization to great acclaim, while Scott’s South Pole party perished attempting to return to the coast.

Scientists were eager to conduct research in Antarctica. In 1903, the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition built the first permanent base, used for meteorology, botany, biology, and geology in 1903. During World War II, the British established a presence on the continent. The United States constructed five bases from 1929 to 1958, but all disappeared over time as icebergs broke off and carried them away. In 1956 the United States built the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station and McMurdo Station. Since November of that year, the United States has continuously had human presence at the geographic South Pole.

Overview

The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is near the geographic South Pole at an elevation of 9,300 feet (2,835 meters) on ice that is 9,000 feet (2,700 meters) thick. The ice sheet on which it stands is constantly moving at a rate of about 33 feet (10 meters) a year toward the Weddell Sea. The geographic South Pole marker, which is next to the station, is moved annually on January 1 to compensate for the shifting ice sheet. Located at -90°0̍̍̍̍'' S, -139°15'60''W, it is the world’s southernmost research facility.

While the first explorers erected crude tents at the South Pole, construction of the first permanent structure took place over the Southern Hemisphere’s summer season. Work began in November 1956 and was completed in February 1957. The central portion was reconstructed in 1975 as a geodesic dome that covered modular buildings and equipment, while instruments were housed in detached buildings. An emergency camp was also built. While the dome could house up to thirty-three people, this soon proved insufficient, and science and living structures were added in the 1990s. An upgrade began in 1997 and was completed by 2008. The modern facility has been elevated and all areas are connected, but it is designed so that in winter when fewer people live there, some areas can be closed off. Facilities for scientific instruments must be away from the main station to reduce interference between research and station operations such as the power plant. Elevation of the buildings offers several benefits including maximizing solar energy use and reducing snow drift.

The station contains everything people need to live in isolation because for several months of the winter—from mid-February to late October—travel to and from the South Pole is usually impossible. The two-level elevated structure includes sleeping quarters, restrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, lounges, a gym and weight facilities, and a laundry room. It also has offices, laboratories, a communications center, a computer room, and a medical center. Other areas include a game room, television room, sauna, post office, reading room, music room, craft room, store, hydroponic greenhouse, and recycling center. Other features are an observation deck, a vertical tower, and an emergency power plant. The station relies on satellites for communications and Internet, so such services are only available for several hours a day.

Much of the research takes place outside the main structure in laboratory facilities in one of two areas: the Clean Air Sector and the Dark Sector. Pollution including light, vehicle emissions, and cell phones or radio signals can affect work in these sections. Because of this, vehicles are not permitted in the Clean Air Sector, and during the total darkness of winter, only red exterior lights are used. The Atmospheric Research Observatory (ARO) is in the Clean Air Sector. Another area is the Quiet Sector, which is kept free of vibrations that could interfere with seismic observations. The South Pole Remote Earth Science Observatory (SPRESO), which records seismic activity from all over the planet, is in this sector.

The work week at US Antarctic stations is at least six days and fifty-four hours. Most of the staff has Sundays off. Support staff includes cooks and other food service workers, electricians, equipment operators, mechanics, and plumbers. Everyone takes turns with chores such as cleaning the bathrooms and may volunteer to help the kitchen steward wash the dishes and cooking pots. Individuals organize events such as exercise classes, game and movie nights, talent shows, and marathons. One annual event is billed as a race around the world. It is a circumnavigation of the South Pole that takes runners through every line of longitude. The distance covered is about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers).

People and work conducted in Antarctica generate waste. In the past, garbage dumps were established near structures, but treaties to protect the environment ban such practices in modern times. The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station loads dozens of pallets with compacted trash every year. In the summer, it is hauled overland more than 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) to McMurdo Station. A ship arrives at McMurdo Station annually with supplies; once it is unloaded, it is filled with waste for the return trip. Most of the waste is taken to the United States for recycling and disposal. The three US Antarctic stations combined produce 150 shipping containers of trash each year.

The station must produce water by melting and treating ice. Because the supply is limited, most people are allowed only two 2-minute showers a week.

American research in the Antarctic is supported by a long list of military, government, scientific, and university organizations that operate within the United States Antarctic Program (USAP). The National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs (OPP) oversees the management of operations. Transportation is provided by several units; notably the New York Air National Guard 109th Airlift Wing provides air support within Antarctica and between the continent and New Zealand. The US Navy provides air traffic control, base operations, information security, systems engineering, systems maintenance, and weather forecasting. The University of Wisconsin–Madison Ice Coring and Drilling Services supports sample collection in Antarctica and the Arctic. The Global Monitoring Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducts research related to aerosols, the carbon cycle, cloud changes, greenhouse gases, the stratospheric ozone, and surface radiation. Other agencies are involved in launching weather balloons, global positioning system (GPS) surveying and mapping, and support of transportation within and to Antarctica such as icebreaking operations and helicopters.

Fields of research at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station include astronomy, astrophysics, biology, geophysics, glaciology, and meteorology. Such work often requires specialized equipment such as the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, the first neutrino detector of its kind. The detector, which took about seven years to complete, was built in the Antarctic because the ice is very clear. This equipment detects neutrinos, which are particles with no charge and almost no mass. Neutrinos are, therefore, difficult to detect. When a neutrino interacts with the ice, it creates electrically charged particles that can be recorded by the IceCube sensors, which are buried in about one- quarter cubic mile (1-cubic kilometer) of ice. IceCube uses 5,160 digital optical modules (DOMs) that are buried and frozen in eighty-six boreholes that are buried from 4,757 to 8,038 feet (1,450 to 2,450 meters) in a hexagonal grid. Each DOM has a 10-inch (25-centimeter) photomultiplier tube and is connected by wires to the system’s computers, which convert the information into light patterns. IceCube Lab is in the Dark Sector, as are the South Pole Telescope, the Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization (BICEP), a cosmic ray detector array (SPASE-2), and other labs.

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