Week 5 at the Pole

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NSF/D. Larsen

The South Pole station is gearing up for its seasonal closing. There are still flights coming and going—the plane above is shown offloading fuel supplies—but they will eventually end as the season closes and weather becomes inhospitable to aircraft. Fuel and other critical supplies must be brought in and maintained in sufficient quantities to last for the long winter stretch in which there are no flights in or out. In the meantime, IceCube winterover Dag Larsen made a last R&R run to McMurdo station on the coast before the South Pole station does close. On his way there, he got to ponder (and capture) the incredible landscape below him.

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NSF/D. Larsen
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NSF/D. Larsen
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NSF/D. Larsen