Summertime at South Pole
The Dome entrance; the first place you get herded to once you exit the plane. You head to the galley and get a briefing on station environment and your responsibilities.The Dome has a 165ft diameter and 55ft height. Construction of it was complete in Jan. 1974. Originally designed for 40 people, around 200 people shuffle through for meals during the sixteen week summer season.
Personal space is a luxury during these months.Only 27 dorm rooms are within the Dome. The rest of the summer population is housed in J-ways; similar to M.A.S.H. tents. Summer temperatures range from minus 60F at station opening in early November to zero in Janurary; then dropping to a low, averaging minus 110F in mid-winter(July).
The flight deck atop the Dome entrance hill. This is where folks get on and off the ski planes,fuel is off loaded into the station fuel storage,and cargo is on/off loaded. The snow mobile is a primary mode of transportation for construction personnel on station to shuttle people and materials around the 2 square mile station. C-130 engines are always kept running to prevent hydraulic lines from freezing. A heating unit(herman nelson) keeps the nose gear from freezing in place. The Ceremonial South Pole marker is in the background along with the countries who initially signed the Antarctic Treaty. The Geographic Pole is further over to the right of the Ceremonial Pole.
This is where all lines of longitude converge in the southern hemisphere atop 9000ft of snow&ice. This sign is a short walk from the Dome entrance.
The surveyed point where the exact geographical point lies. It is resurveyed every December because the ice sheet shifts about 10 meters a year.
A C-130 departing the 14,000ft groomed South Pole Station skiway. Flight operations concur with the summer construction season whichs runs from the beginning of Nov. and cease mid-Feb when the winter over crew hears their last C-130 until November. South Pole Station has been occupied year round since 1957.
Constrution that will be ongoing until 2005 as a part of the New South Pole Station redevelopment plan. One of the first projects was to dismantle the old cargo arch; the section that angles off, and replace it with a new 200ft arch that is 60ft wide and 37ft high. It will house the new garage and trade shops at the end of 1999. The arch section on the left was raised in the summer season '97-'98 five feet. This arch is where the current garage and trade shop buildings are beneath and will house the cargo operations as soon as the shops are relocated. In the background is where the skiplanes park during on/off loading of cargo and people.
The last arch section being placed at the beginning of February '98. It came as 6ft sections and was assembled around the clock from mid-December until completion. Thousands of nuts and bolts hold it together. The constant rat-a-tat of the pneumatic nut drivers was always heard.
Summer CampWhere all personnel who sign on for only the 4 month summer season reside. J-ways are the green tents and the blue shelters are called Hypertats. They house between nine and fourteen people in approx. 7ft X 10ft rooms depending on the unit. The dwellings were moved from old location on left to new one further grid east atop a 10ft snow berm to reduce winter drifting. In the background the barren plateau reminds one how remote they are.
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©1998 Jon Conrad