Week 53 at the Pole

sundial
NSF/I. Rees

Out with the old, in with the new. This might pertain to many things as one year changes to the next, but at the South Pole it also applies to the South Pole marker, which indicates the spot of the geographic South Pole, not to be confused with the South Magnetic Pole. Because the polar ice sheet is moving, at roughly 10 meters per year, the position of the geographic pole is constantly changing and is re-marked each January 1st in an annual ceremony. Every year, a new marker is unveiled at the ceremony, designed and constructed by the station’s winter crew from the previous season. The 2014 marker is a sundial, practical in addition to eye-catching.

pole ceremony
NSF/I. Rees