Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, January 2006.

Aerial view, January 2005.

Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station may also refer to Scott Base. Scott Base may also refer to Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.

The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is a U.S. research station at the South Pole, in Antarctica. The United States came into being around the Age of Enlightenment (circa 1680 to 1800 a period in which writers and thinkers rejected the Superstitions of the past The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth.

Description and history

The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is the southernmost continually inhabited place on the planet. Its name honors Roald Amundsen who reached the South Pole in 1911, and Robert F. Scott who reached the South Pole in 1912. Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (ˈɾuːɑl ˈɑmʉnsən ( July 16, 1872 – c

It was constructed in November 1956 to support the International Geophysical Year in 1957, and has been continuously occupied since then. The International Geophysical Year or IGY was an international scientific effort that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958 It currently lies within 100 meters (330 ft) of the Geographic South Pole. Because it is located on a glacier, the station 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. For the Banana Yashimoto novel see Kitchen (novel A kitchen, is a room or part of a room (sometimes called "kitchen 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). "Snowfall" redirects here For other uses see Snow (disambiguation or Snowfall (disambiguation. The station stands at an elevation of 2,835 meters (9,301 ft) on the interior of Antarctica's nearly featureless ice sheet, about 2,850 meters (9,350 ft) thick at that location. Recorded temperature has varied between −13. Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature 6 °C (7. 52 °F) and −82. 8 °C (−117 °F). Annual mean is −49 °C (−56 °F); monthly means vary from −28 °C (−18 °F) in December to −60 °C (−76 °F) in July. Average wind is 5. 5 m/s (12 mph); peak gust recorded was 27 m/s (60 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 low temperature recorded during 1957 was −74 °C (−102 °F). These temperatures, combined with low humidity and low air pressure, are only manageable with proper protection. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean Relative humidity.

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.

On 3 January 1958 Sir Edmund Hillary's New Zealand part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition reached the station over land from Scott Base, followed shortly by Sir Vivian Fuchs' British scientific component. Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE (20 July 1919 &ndash 11 January 2008 was a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The 1955&ndash58 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition ( CTAE) was a Commonwealth -sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Scott Base may also refer to Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Sir Vivian Ernest Fuchs FRS ( February 11, 1908 &ndash November 11, 1999) was an English explorer whose expeditionary

Dome (1975–2003)

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 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 snowdrift.

The station was relocated and rebuilt in 1975 as a geodesic dome 50 meters wide and 16 meters high, with 14×24 m steel archways, modular buildings, fuel bladders, and equipment. A geodesic dome is an almost spherical shell structure based on a network of Great circles ( Geodesics lying approximately on the surface of a Sphere Modular buildings are sectional Prefabricated buildings that are manufactured in a plant and delivered to the customer in one or more complete modular sections Detached buildings within the dome house instruments for monitoring the upper and lower atmosphere and for numerous and complex projects in astronomy and astrophysics. Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study Astrophysics is the branch of Astronomy that deals with the Physics of the Universe, including the physical properties ( Luminosity, 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". The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the 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. Room temperature (also referred to as ambient temperature) is a common term to denote a certain Temperature within enclosed space at which humans are accustomed 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.

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 10 m South Pole Telescope. The Viper Telescope is used to view mainly Cosmic background radiation. The Degree Angular Scale Interferometer ( DASI) is a telescope located in Antarctica. The South Pole Telescope (SPT is a 10 meter diameter telescope located at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica The AMANDA / IceCube experiment makes use of the two-mile (3 km)-thick ice sheet to detect neutrinos which have passed through the earth. The Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array ( AMANDA) is a Neutrino Telescope located beneath the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a Neutrino Telescope currently under construction at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Neutrinos are Elementary particles that travel close to the Speed of light, lack an Electric charge, are able to pass through ordinary matter almost An observatory building, the Martin A. Pomerantz Observatory (MAPO), was dedicated in 1995. Martin A Pomerantz (born 17 December 1916) is an American physicist who served as Director of the Bartol Research Institute and who has been a leader in developing 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. The LC-130 is a Ski -equipped variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules used in the Arctic and Antarctic. 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. The New York Air National Guard is the component of the United States Air National Guard operating within the state of New York. McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island on the shore of McMurdo Sound, 2200

Elevated station (2003–present)

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. A power station (also referred to as generating station, power plant or powerhouse) is an industrial facility for the generation of The green light in the background is Aurora Australis.

Design of the building started in 1992 by Ferraro Choi & Associates. Structural engineering was performed by BBFM Engineers. Their design was of an 80,000 ft² (7,400 m²), 2-story building that cost $150 million. The square foot is an Imperial unit / US customary unit (non- SI non- metric) of Area, used mainly in the United States M^2 redirects here For other uses see M². CM2 redirects here The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been ^[1]

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 elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. 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 where about 20 cm (8 inches) of snow accumulates every year^[2][3] 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 story, 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.

89 59'51. 19" S, 139 16'22. 41" E

Airstrip

The South Pole cargo crew unloads passengers from an LC-130. An IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier, IATA station code or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter code designating many The ICAO (ˌaɪˌkeɪˈoʊ Airport code or location indicator is a four-letter Alphanumeric Code designating each airport around The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth. The term above mean sea level ( AMSL) refers to the Elevation (on the ground or Altitude (in the Air) of any object relative to the A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. A runway ( RWY) is a strip of land on an Airport, on which Aircraft can take off and land. A runway ( RWY) is a strip of land on an Airport, on which Aircraft can take off and land. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International "Snowfall" redirects here For other uses see Snow (disambiguation or Snowfall (disambiguation. In order to prevent hydraulic fluids and fuel from freezing, the engines are kept running while the plane is on the ground.

The station has a runway for aircraft (ICAO: NZSP), 3658 m / 12000 ft long. The ICAO (ˌaɪˌkeɪˈoʊ Airport code or location indicator is a four-letter Alphanumeric Code designating each airport around Between October and February, there are several flights per day of ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules aircraft from McMurdo to supply the station. The LC-130 is a Ski -equipped variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules used in the Arctic and Antarctic. McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island on the shore of McMurdo Sound, 2200 Resupply missions are collectively termed Operation Deep Freeze. Operation Deep Freeze (OpDFrz or ODF is the codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze

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 National Science Foundation as one of the main reasons for the McMurdo-South Pole highway of an over-ice ground supply route. The National Science Foundation (NSF is a United States Government agency that supports fundamental Research and Education in all the non-medical McMurdo-South Pole highway is a 900-mile (1450 km road in Antarctica to link the United States McMurdo Station on the coast to the Amundsen-Scott

Operation

During the summer the station population is typically over 200. Most personnel leave by the middle of February, leaving several dozen (86 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 during the winter, and powered by three generators running on JP-8 jet fuel. JP-8, or JP8 (for "Jet Propellant" is a Jet fuel, specified in 1990 by the U

Research at the station includes glaciology, geophysics, meteorology, upper atmosphere physics, astronomy, astrophysics, and biomedical studies. Glaciology (from Middle French dialect (Franco-Provençal glace, "ice" or Latin glacies, "frost ice" and Greek λόγος Geophysics, a major discipline of Earth sciences, is the study of the Earth by quantitative physical methods especially by seismic, electromagnetic Meteorology (from Greek grc μετέωρος metéōros, "high in the sky" and grc -λογία -logia) is the Interdisciplinary An atmosphere (from Greek ατμός - atmos, " Vapor " + σφαίρα - sphaira, " Sphere " Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study Astrophysics is the branch of Astronomy that deals with the Physics of the Universe, including the physical properties ( Luminosity, Biomedicine, also known as theoretical medicine, is a term that comprises the knowledge and research which is more or less in common to the fields of human medicine Most of the scientists work in low-frequency astronomy; the low temperature and low moisture content of the polar air, combined with the altitude of over 2743 m (9,000 ft), 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.

Media and events

In 1991, Michael Palin visited the base at the end of his BBC Television Documentary, Pole to Pole. Michael Edward Palin, CBE (born 5 May 1943 is an English Comedian, actor writer and Television presenter best known for being one of the members Pole to Pole is an eight-part Television documentary travel series made for the BBC and released in 1992

In 1999, the winter-over physician, Dr. Jerri Nielsen, discovered she had breast cancer. Jerri Lin Nielsen (born March 1 1952 is an American Physician whose harrowing medical emergency at an Antarctic research station aroused international Breast cancer is a Cancer that starts in the cells of the Breast in women and men 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. Chemotherapy, in its most general sense refers to treatment of disease by chemicals that kill cells specifically those of micro-organisms or Cancer.

A Flat Stanley figure was scanned and emailed to researcher Cynthia Chiang at the station; Chiang printed out the image of the flat character and photographed it at the South Pole for a grade school class in Maryland. Flat Stanley is the title character of a 1964 children's book (ISBN 0-06-009791-4 by Jeff Brown (born 1925 &ndash died December 3, 2003) A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an Image created by Light falling on a light-sensitive surface usually Photographic film or an electronic ^[4]

In January 2007 the station was eventually visited by a group of high Russian officials, including (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation) chiefs Nikolay Patrushev and Vladimir Pronichev. January 2007 is the first month of that year It began on a Monday and 31 days later ended on a Wednesday. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation ( FSB) ( Russian: ФСБ Федера́льная слу́жба безопа́сности Federalnaya Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev (Никола́й Плато́нович Па́трушев (born July 11 1951) is General of the Army Vladimir Yegorovich Pronichev is the current head of the Border Guard Service of the Russian Federation. The expedition, led by polar explorer Arthur Chilingarov, started from Chile on two Mi-8 helicopters and landed on South Pole. Artur Chilingarov (b 1939 Leningrad) is a Russian polar explorer and politician of Armenian descent Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth. ^{[5] [6]}

On September 6, 2007, The National Geographic Channel's TV show Man Made aired an episode on the construction of their new facility. Events 3114 BC - According to the Proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. National Geographic Channel, also called Nat Geo, is a subscription television network that features Documentaries produced by the National Geographic Society ^[7]

On the November 9th, 2007 edition of NBC's Today (NBC program), Today Show co-anchor Ann Curry made a satellite telephone call which was broadcast live from the South Pole. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Today, also referred to as The Today Show, is an American morning news and talk show airing weekday mornings on NBC. Ann Curry (born November 19 1956) is an American Television news Journalist and news anchor on NBC's morning television ^[8] In 1999, CBS News correspondent Jerry Bowen reported on camera in a talkback with anchors from the Saturday edition of "CBS This Morning".

On Christmas 2007, two employees at the base got into a drunken fight and had to be evacuated. ^[9]

Popular culture

The station has featured prominently in several science fiction television series, including The X-Files movie Fight the Future. A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U The X-Files is a Peabody, Golden Globe and Emmy Award -winning American Science fiction television series created by Chris Carter The X-Files is a 1998 Science fiction film based on the television series of the same name.

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. The Cybermen are a Fictional race of Cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British Science fiction television Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The Tenth Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in

In the Stargate SG-1 episode Frozen, SGC scientists stationed in the South Pole dome discover a frozen woman and SG-1 goes to investigate. Season six of Stargate SG-1, an American - Canadian Television series, began airing on June 7, 2002 on In certain external shots, the new, elevated station can be seen under construction in the background.

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. Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23 1952) is an American Science fiction Writer, probably best known for his award-winning McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island on the shore of McMurdo Sound, 2200

Time zone

The South Pole sees the sun rise and set only once a year, technically on the Autumnal equinox on September 21 and the Vernal equinox in March, respectively, but atmospheric refraction means that the sun is above the horizon for some four days longer at each equinox. Sunrise is the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears above the Horizon in the East. Sunset, also called sundown in some American English Dialects is the instant when the trailing edge of the Sun 's disk disappears below An equinox is the event of the Sun passing over the Earth's equator in its annual cycle An equinox is the event of the Sun passing over the Earth's equator in its annual cycle Atmospheric Refraction is the deviation of Light or other Electromagnetic wave from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the 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 New Zealand. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Daylight saving time ( DST Christchurch (Ōtautahi The largest City in the South Island, it is also the second largest city and third largest urban area of New Zealand

See also

• Polheim, Amundsen's name for the first South Pole camp. Polheim, "Home of the Pole" was Roald Amundsen 's name for his camp (the first ever at the South Pole.
• Scott Base
• List of research stations in Antarctica

References

External links

• Current weather conditions at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
• Bill Spindler's Antarctica
• iceman's South Pole Page - Robert Schwarz spent most winters (6) at the Pole up to date
• 360° Panoramas of the South Pole
• Live webcam image from ARO
• Big Dead Place
• National Science Foundation: Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
• Airport information for NZSP at World Aero Data
• Current weather for NZSP at NOAA/NWS