Week 7 at the Pole

View looking down into collection of clear plastic bags open at the top, displaying fresh produce.
Kalvin Moschkau, IceCube/NSF

It looks like someone just opened up their CSA delivery. Only, this harvest is not from a farm but rather from the South Pole’s own greenhouse. The recent yield was being given in thanks to the SPOT team, who arrived last week with precious fuel and cargo that the South Pole station needs to make it through the winter. Three times a year, the long convoy crosses the continent from McMurdo to the Pole, and turns around after making their delivery. It’s a long trek, so the South Pole folks thought they might enjoy having some fresh food on their return trip. (Nice.) A line of crates hold lots of food cargo that has been delivered before the station closes, to get them through the long winter when no supplies are incoming. Most of the summer personnel have left the Pole, but some flight issues have delayed the arrival of some of the staff who will be spending the winter at the Pole. As they transition from summer to a smaller group wintering over at the station, some arrangements get modified, as in the galley, where tables have been rearranged to be more “family style.”

A line of cargo containers under a bright sun at the South Pole.
Connor Duffy, IceCube/NSF
Long line of wooden crates stacked three high on pallets.
Kalvin Moschkau, IceCube/NSF
Long view of the South Pole galley after having dining tables rearranged into long line.
Connor Duffy, IceCube/NSF