University of Wisconsin-Madison

Fun Facts

Elevation Map of Antarctica
Elevation Map of Antarctica

About the IceCube Detector

  • Each of the IceCube strings have a theme and each DOM has a name within the theme.
  • There are 60 DOMs per string.
  • The average time to drill a hole for IceCube is approximately 48 hours.
  • The time it took to drill IceCube's first hole was 57 hours!
  • The average depth of an IceCube hole is 2452 meters (1.5 miles)
  • The average amount of fuel used to drill each hole is approximately 4800 gallons (18,169 liters).
  • The amount of ice melted per hole is approximately 200,000 gallons (over 750,000 liters).
  • The average time to deploy a string is 11 hours.
  • The weight of the hose used for the drill is 25,000 lbs!

About the South Pole

  • Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and driest place on earth.
  • The world's lowest temperature of -128° F (~ -89° C) was recorded at the Russia Vostok Station in Antarctica.
  • The highest recorded wind speed in Antarctica of 320 km/h (200 mph) was recorded at the French Dumont d'Urville base in July 1972.
  • It almost never gets above 32° F (0° C) in Antarctica and the highest recorded temperature at the South Pole is 7° F (-13.8° C).
  • The temperature in Antarctica once dropped 65° F (18 ° C) in 12 minutes.
  • Average summer temperatures at the South Pole is -18°F. To find the current temperature at the South Pole check out the United States Antarctic Program's Page!
  • The total surface area of Antarctica is approximately 14.2 million km2 or 5.5 million square miles in the summer, in the winter the size grows by 2.5 million km2 from the additional ice that forms around the coasts.
  • Katabatic (density driven) winds are winds that flow downwards from the interior of Antarctica towards the coast, driven by density as the air cools over the South Pole.
  • The travel time from Los Angeles to the South Pole is approximately 48 hours.
  • The nearest landmass to Antarctica is South America—it is 600 miles (1,000 km) across the Drake Passage, which is considered to be the roughest stretch of water in the world. Australia is 1,550 miles (2,500 km) away, and South Africa is 2,500 miles (4,000 km) away.
  • Antarctica is the third smallest continent in the world (13,720,000 km2), larger than Australia (9,010,000 km2) and the sub-continent of Europe (10,400,000 km2).
  • The magnetic South Pole shifts about 5 miles a year and is now located at about 66°S and 139°E on the Adélie Coast of Antarctica.
  • The continental ice sheet of Antarctica contains about 7 million miles3 of ice, 90 percent of the world's total.
  • Antarctica's lowest point is in the Bentley Subglacial Trench. It is -8,327 feet (-2,538 m) below sea level. Its highest point is in the Ellsworth Mountains on Vinson Massive at 16,066 feet (4,897 m) above sea level.
  • Antarctica has approximately 17,968 km of coastline.
  • Antarctica has no indigenous population.
  • There are more than 40 flying bird species that spend their summers in Antarctica.
  • Most of the animals of Antarctica live on the edge and coast or in the water surrounding the continent.
  • The ozone hole above Antarctica covers 27 million km2.
  • During the summer, more solar radiation reaches the South Pole than is received in an equivalent period at the equator.
  • There are 28 airport landing facilities in Antarctica, and all 37 Antarctic stations have helipads.
  • Antarctica is 10 percent of the earth's land area.
  • Only 2 percent of Antarctica's land is not covered in ice.
  • Antarctic ice which at its thickest reaches 5 km (1.96 miles) in depth, comprises almost 70 percent of the earth's fresh water.
  • If all of the ice in Antarctica melted, sea levels would rise between 50 and 60 meters (164–197 feet).
  • The ice cap makes Antarctica the highest continent; an average of approximately 2,300 meters (7,546 feet) above sea level.
  • Antarctica is the driest place on earth. In places like the Dry Valleys, it has not rained for thousands of years.
  • Fewer than 200,000 people have ever been to Antarctica.
  • Antarctic glaciers are giant rivers of ice that flow slowly towards the sea.
  • The weight of the glaciers in Antarctica compresses the land below. If the glaciers were removed, the land of Antarctica would slowly rise over the period of hundreds of years.
  • A nunatak is an outcrop of rock where one of the taller parts of the Transantarctic mountains peek up through the ice sheet.
  • There are at least 2 active volcanoes in Antarctica, one of which has a permanent molten lava lake.
  • There are no trees or bushes in Antarctica.
  • The first time anyone set eyes on Antarctica was in 1820.
  • Dogs have been banned from Antarctica to protect the seal population
  • The Adelie penguin was named after Jules-Séastien-César Dumont d'Urville's wife. D'Urville was the first man to set foot in Antarctica.
  • As sea ice gets older it becomes considerably stronger. In first-year sea ice, most of the salts remain in tiny pockets that prevent a more rigid crystalline ice structure from forming. As the ice ages, the salts slowly leach out, leaving a much stronger crystal.
  • The center of Antarctica is the largest desert in the world.

Bibliography/Reference materials