South Pole Station
Special Report

South Pole Station for Science

The South Pole station is one of three year-around stations operated by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The other two United States Antarctic Program stations are McMurdo Station on the Ross Island and Palmer Station on Anvers Island near the Antarctic Peninsula. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station sits at the Earth's axis on a shifting continental ice sheet several miles thick.

The South Pole is a unique research site that supports projects ranging from cosmic observations to seismic and atmospheric studies. The extremely dry, cold air is perfectly suited for observing Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation-the faint light signature left by the Big Bang that brought the universe into being nearly 14 billion years ago. The pattern of these ancient photons reveals the contents and structure of the infant cosmos.

Another large astrophysical project at the pole is IceCube—a one-cubic-kilometer international high-energy neutrino detector being built in the clear ice, 1.25-2.5 kilometers below the South Pole station. IceCube tracks ghostly subatomic particles called neutrinos that were created by exotic deep-space events such as exploding stars.

The new Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was dedicated in January 2008 during the first year of International Polar Year (IPY), the third station since 1956. The station began austral winter operations on February 14, 2009 with a station population of 43 people. Of this group, 36 are employees of Raytheon Polar Services Company, 5 are providing technical support for 15 ongoing research projects and meteorological observations, and 2 are supporting the IceCube neutrino detector. The station will be in winter operating mode until late October 2009.

At an elevation of 2,835 meters (9,300 feet), South Pole has an average monthly temperature in the austral summer of -28°C (-18°F); in the austral winter, the average monthly temperature is 60°C (–76°F).