It was all about the sun last week at the Pole. Weather conditions allowed the winterovers to glimpse the green flash as the sun finally set below the horizon. IceCube winterover Martin was in the right place at the right time to capture a photograph of it, above (and it wasn’t his first time). The […]
IceCube was stable last week, but the same can’t be said for the weather at the Pole. They had high winds and mostly conditions of low visibility from blowing snow. But there were a few brief moments where things cleared, and the sun was visible on the horizon. The low sun highlights the texture of […]
Last week was relatively quiet at the Pole. IceCube’s winterovers performed a few detector maintenance tasks and gave a tour of the ICL to South Pole logistics personnel. Although winter is fast approaching and the sun is quite low, there is still plenty of daylight for taking outdoor photos. Above we see the tour group […]
The sun is getting noticeably lower in the sky at the South Pole. IceCube’s winterovers also note that it’s starting to get cold. Apparently, there’s “cold” and then there’s “South Pole cold.” Last week, the winterovers were busy outdoors, taking advantage of the lingering light to complete a round of IceTop snow measurements. They also […]
Last week was relatively quiet at the Pole, offering a good opportunity to get out and reflag the flag line between the IceCube Lab (ICL) and the station. They drill new holes and replace flags as needed to keep the line well maintained. The flags are easy to see now while the sun is still […]
Well, now it’s official—the South Pole station has closed for the winter. Above is a great shot that IceCube winterover Martin captured of the last passenger-carrying plane to depart. Below, the plane is shown being refueled, followed by a view of its take-off as it heads for McMurdo captured from the station’s observation deck. The […]
It’s still light outside, but winter at the South Pole is fast approaching. There were both arrivals and departures last week, and we can see that the departures (above) well outnumbered the arrivals (below). At this point, all the winterovers who will remain on station for this winter have arrived, and team building activities are […]
![Large fuel bladders parked on the ice at the South Pole.]](https://res.cloudinary.com/icecube/images/q_auto/v1613409623/2021week05_spot_fuel_jveitchmichaelis/2021week05_spot_fuel_jveitchmichaelis.jpg)
Last week at the Pole, the fuel arrived. A lot of it! It takes a lot of fuel to keep things operating all year long in this extreme environment, and like any other cargo, all that fuel must be transported in some way to this remote locale. That’s where SPOT—the South Pole Overland Traverse—comes in. […]
If you want to take inventory of a shipping container’s contents, you have to get inside first. And if your container is at the South Pole, that can mean moving a whole lot of snow. As we’ve said before, for a place that’s essentially a winter desert, there’s a lot of snow accumulation at the […]
![Two people in fire gear playing dodgeball in gym.]](https://res.cloudinary.com/icecube/images/q_auto/v1611948456/2021week03_ert_dodgeball_jveitchmichaelis/2021week03_ert_dodgeball_jveitchmichaelis.jpg)
So much activity at the Pole last week. A game of dodgeball is just the thing to provide practice for the emergency response team. First, they have to don their full gear in under two minutes before they can pick up a ball for their team. Then, they have to play dodgeball. It’s a workout. […]