Does the IceCube Lab seem a little different, maybe a little lonely? There are new flaglines for the recently installed IceCube Upgrade strings, but otherwise no evidence is left behind of the very active drill camp in operation there over the summer. It looks as if nothing had happened (well, some of us know better). […]
In 2019, the U.S. National Science Foundation, together with US institutional and international partners, approved funding of the IceCube Upgrade project, an improvement that would significantly push the scientific capabilities of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Seven years later, the IceCube Upgrade has now been successfully deployed, marking the first significant expansion of IceCube since its […]
This is the final Upgrade Update as the last field work tasks have been completed and all the Upgrade personnel have left or are scheduled to leave the South Pole. Clear skies and sunshine show off the organized lineup of Upgrade drill towers and other structures that have been moved to the science berm at […]
Last week at the Pole brought a couple of rare (or first-time) events. First up, the fogbow. That’s right, not a rainbow but like a rainbow, in shape at least. Fogbows are much rarer than rainbows, but they’re not so unusual that folks at the Pole haven’t captured photos of them before. The second event […]
Last week, the Upgrade season continued its wind-down, with people leaving and activities at the Pole focused on packing up cargo and winterizing the drill camp. For example, emptied water hoses were wrangled into tanks for long-term storage, and the drill tower and DOM handling facility had to be moved out to the storage berm. […]
The Upgrade team has begun to disperse—not all at once but in groups, like when they had arrived earlier in the season. But they’ve been taking nice group photos when and where they can, before too many people leave. Above is a small group gathered around the last D-Egg that was deployed—that’s a happy group. […]
What if you were trapped inside a D-Egg, with a group of people smiling at you from the outside? Although we can’t say what that might feel like, we can say what it would look like. The image above was captured from an actual D-Egg for the IceCube Upgrade—it’s just not one that was deployed […]
The IceCube Upgrade drill camp was still in operation last week. Above is a view with all heaters working to get the water for the drill up to temperature. But as the Upgrade season is starting to wind down, last week was a good time to get the whole group together for a celebration before […]
Last week the Upgrade team finished drilling the fifth hole and started in on the sixth. But it’s not all drilling for the team—there’s also installation of modules and then commissioning all the deployed devices. But there was progress on all fronts. The fifth string was completely deployed, and the commissioning team has been making […]
There’s been activity of all kinds at the South Pole lately, but let’s not forget about the greenhouse. Volunteer training has begun, and if those strong looking shoots continue to grow nicely, they might be enjoying peas at the Pole in no time. Much of the other activity has been focused on the IceCube Upgrade […]