The South Pole has been permanently inhabited for 68 years, thanks to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, which has been the home of groundbreaking science and a unique culture that can’t be found anywhere else on Earth.
TRANSCRIPT:
A masochist’s argument for the Artemis mission might go like this: we have to settle other planets because we’ve already conquered everywhere that can kill us down here. To be fair, the South Pole isn’t as hostile to life as an active volcano or an undersea trench. But it is about the harshest environment where people live all year.
The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station sits on top of a 9,300-foot-high ice sheet. You know how Denver, Colorado is called the Mile High City? This is that plus another 4000 feet up in the air.
And speaking of air, the air at the pole is mountain thin and desert dry. It’s also very cold. Temps at the pole can dip below –100°F — that’s minus 73 Celsius — and even the relatively mild winds can plunge it another 20 to 40 degrees.
The Sun sets in late March at the pole and it doesn’t rise again until late September. The darkness is enough to cause residents to lose their sense of time. And residents is the right word, as practically nobody travels in or out of the pole during the winter night.
There’s no wildlife at the pole, not even penguins. But there are people who live on the mountain of ice — a succession of scientists and support personnel who face the void with jaws tight and mittens on.
The winter population is around 40 to 50 people. The number triples in the summer, when the Sun stays up for six months. But don’t let the population boom fool you.
Even in Summer, the South Pole is a death trap. Life only exists there thanks to the human innovation that is embodied by the Amundsen–Scott Station. Though to give our best friends their due, getting to the point where we could build it took a lot of dogs.
Amundsen & Scott
So — Amundsen & Scott was not named for a Norwegian sports apparel company and me — though if they’re looking for a sponsorship opportunity, I’m open. It was named for a pair of explorers who raced to the South Pole from 1911 to 1912.
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen of Norway won the race. His team was the first to reach the pole on December 14th, 1911. His British rival, Robert Falcon Scott, arrived January 17th of the next year.
Being late was only one of the miseries Scott faced on the expedition. He underestimated the food needed on the journey, allotting enough for each of his 16 men to eat 4,240 calories per day. That wasn’t enough, say experts, as least 5,500 calories were needed to to keep hauling goods in temps that dipped to -70 F.
Scott skimped on the fruit, too, which means skimping on vitamin C. The double punch of fatigue and tooth loss from scurvy caused several of his men to head home early. The last team of five, including Scott, died of exposure soon after discovering the flag Amundsen had planted.
He packed plenty of food, by the way, including fruits and berries that kept scurvy away. Amundsen’s other big advantage over Scott was that he brought more sled-dogs, a whooping 52 compared to Scott’s 23. Scott had 10 ponies and 2 motorized sleds, but none of those performed like the puppers.
Interestingly enough, Amundsen had 110 dogs when his expedition was finished. This means more than half of his pack were born on the trip. I guess we know what they did to keep warm…[cue Barry White music]
Byrd’s First Flight
Moving on, seventeen years after the Norwegians did their thing, some Americans became the first to fly a plane over the pole. This was important because air travel would later open up the opportunity for an extended presence. More on that later.
The flyover occurred on November 29th, 1929. The mission cost a million dollars then, about 19 million now. In command was a U. S. Naval officer named Richard E. Byrd, who started his trip by asking Roald Amundsen how to stay alive.
Amundsen said to take a good plane, lots of dogs, and only the best men. Byrd got the message. He hired Arthur Walden as his dog expert which was a genius move as Walden had his own breed of sled-pulling dog, the Chinook.
All Chinooks are descended from a husky that led sled-dogs for another famous explorer, Robert Peary. 16 of Walden’s Chinooks hauled for Byrd, dropping off gas for the plane to pick up at depots.
I should mention that Byrd didn’t pilot the plane himself. The pilot was one Dean Smith. This is not the famous basketball coach. It’s also not the current manager of Major League Soccer team Charlotte FC.
Although, is it just me, or could all three of these dudes be the same guy?
Old Pole
After Byrd’s flight it would take another 27 years for an aircraft to actually land at the South Pole. 1956 was the year that happened and it honestly changed everything. The US navy was responsible again.
A Navy Skytrain nicknamed Que Sera Sera made the landing, piloted by a Lt. Cdr. Gus Shinn. The achievement proved many things that had been in doubt like: Was a landing even possible? Could fuel and cargo be delivered to a permanent base?
The answers to these questions was Yes. To this day, life at the South Pole depends on air transport. The reason it’s so essential is that even with modern technology, an overland provisioning trip takes more than a month.
To go from McMurdo Station, on the Antarctic coast to Amundsen-Scott under load and get back again takes 52 days on average. Vehicles built for speed can do it faster, of course. A customized six-wheeled truck once did the trip in 70 hours, but it wasn’t hauling tons of fuel and equipment.
Flying from McMurdo to the pole takes about three hours, in contrast. It’s also a much safer option, though not completely safe. Planes generally don’t fly during the Antarctic winter from March to October and even in summer there have been fatal crashes.
Still, the transformative effect of the Que Sera Sera landing can’t be underestimated. Very shortly afterward construction of the first station, now called the “Old Pole” got started. Navy Seabees assembled the first, modular buildings and them by tunnels.
This was all so the station could participate in 1957’s International Geophysical Year. The IGY was an attempt by scientists around the world to gain a fuller understanding of the Earth and its poles, among other subjects. Sputnik also went up in 1957, as did Explorer One, the satellite that led to the discovery of the Van Allen belts.
These and other successes led to calls for more scientific cooperation in the future. One result was the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. It basically said that Antarctica should be treated like an international nature preserve where experts can do science, so long as they share the results.
The United States Antarctic Program was founded in response to the treaty and put under the control of the National Science Foundation. The history of the NSF is outside the scope of this video. Long story short, it was and is the natural home for US-funded scientific projects that don’t have an immediate military goal.
We’ll talk about specific projects in a minute. First I want to bring our history up to the present. The Old Pole station was abandoned long ago which is no surprise given how hard the Antarctic is on man-made buildings.
By the early 1970s the ten-inches or so of annual snowfall plus drifts blown in by the wind threatened to collapse the pre-fab structures. The “holy stair”, a stairwell marked with pictures of Amundsen and Scott that served as a main entrance, was buried by the mid ‘70s. The various escape hatches disappeared soon after that.
The most accessible entrance to the Old Pole was under eight feet of snow in 2009. That snow was treacherous, and after a tractor rolled over it and caused a partial collapse, the decision was made to dynamite the rest. Engineers drilled holes in December 2010 and boom! The Old Pole’s part of the story came to an end.
The South Pole Dome
South Pole residents have had two new homes since then. Construction of the Old Pole’s first replacement started in 1971. At the time, domes were the new architectural hotness.
This was only four years after Buckminster Fuller showed off the geodesic dome at the Montreal World Expo after all. And it was one of Bucky’s students, Don Richter, who was put in charge of replacing the Old Pole. As I’m sure you’ve guesses, he did it with a dome.
The aluminum structure was 65 feet tall and 165 feet across. Inside was most of the living space for the South Pole scientists and support staff. Unfortunately, even domes aren’t immune to problems from snow accumulation.
By 1977 so much snow was heaped at the dome’s base that the weight started to shift the foundation. By 1982 the dome had settled two feet and the tunnel underneath was noticeably cracked. This led to a reconstruction project in 1990.
The reconstruction went so well that the South Pole dome continued in use for another thirteen years. Finally, the foundation issues caused it to be abandoned. It was abandoned starting in 2003 and taken down in 2010.
Look Ma, Stilts!
Which brings us, at last to the construction of the new, elevated Amundsen–Scott Station. The two pods that make it up were built a stone’s throw away from aging dome beginning in 1997. Dedication took place in 2008.
If you can see the pictures you’ll notice the new station is on stilts. This allows wind to scour the snow from under the pods, helping to keep it from piling. Residents still have to remove some of the snow themselves, but so far have been able to keep up.
It’s actually possible to raise the station higher. The stilts are modular and the pods can by lifted by jacks. Two stilt sections can be added with each each one-story tall. The designers really built the Elevated Station to last.
Science Layout
These days, the Elevated Station is the center of life at the South Pole. The bulk of the scientific research, on the other hand, is spread across the ice in a ring of observatories, clean-air labs, and telescope housings. These outbuildings form a “science campus” designed to keep sensitive instruments away from noise, heat, and vibration.
Quick note here. When you’re Standing at the South Pole, every direction away is North. For direction purposes, I’ll be using quadrants, with Upper West meaning a heading from 0 to 90 degrees West, et cetera, as marked on South Pole maps.
So, in the Upper West and far enough from the main building to avoid radio interference stands the South Pole Telescope, a 10-meter millimeter-wave instrument built to observe the Cosmic Microwave Background. It’s impressive on its own and an important part of the Event Horizon Telescope array that observes black holes.
Near the SPT is the BICEP/Keck Array, a collection of compact CMB telescopes that have attempted — and so far failed — to detect primordial gravitational waves. These instruments sit inside small heated shelters that protect the electronics while the telescopes themselves are exposed to the polar sky.
At some remove from this is but still in the Upper West is IceCube, the world’s largest neutrino detector. Instead of a building, IceCube is a grid of optical modules drilled into the ice. They extend to a depth that makes IceCube overall deeper than some mountains are tall.
The telescopes and IceCube are in the pole’s Dark Sector. Opposite to this is, in the Upper East quadrant, is the Clean Air Sector. Non-scientific access is strictly prohibited here to keep the air pure. Inside the CAS sits the Atmospheric Research Observatory where the quality of that air is measured.
Swinging back to center on our map we find the various support structures for Amundsen-Scott. These include weather stations, overflow housing for summer visitors, and power shacks. Most of the power is from diesel generators — the overland supply trips I mentioned are largely about topping them up.
Earlier versions of Amundsen-Scott were run on nuclear power, but that was stopped in 1972 for safety reasons. Studies have been done on using solar and other renewable energy sources at the pole. It could happen but for now it’s diesel that keeps the heat going and the lights on.
Why the South Pole is Good for Science
You might have noticed the emphasis on Cosmic Microwave Background and cosmic ray research at the South Pole. The reason these get special attention has to do with the unique environment there. The large, stable landmass of Antarctica combined with the high reflectivity of snow keeps the temperature not only low but predictable.
The air is dry due to the cold and the high altitude. This matters for CMB research because water vapor absorbs microwave radiation. Simply put, if you want to detect the CMB, it’s hard to find a better location than the South Pole.
Stability and consistency are good for neutrino detection, too, especially when you add time. Strange eons of time….
See, the glacier Amundsen-Scott is sitting on was formed over millennia of constant cold. It’s as clear and uniform as any natural chunk of ice could be. Clarity matters when you’re trying to detect tiny flashes of light, which is what IceCube is all about.
The optical sensors it uses are looking for the blue light of Cherenkov radiation. Cherenkov radiation happens when a particle travels faster than light can in a given medium. When a neutrino collides with another particle, one of the signs is a flash of superfast light.
Neutrinos don’t collide much, so to catch them you need a mountain-sized mass. That mass needs to be as clear as possibly because the Cherenkov flashes are faint. Where on earth can you find a mountain-sized chunk of natural crystal for ghostly particles to spark off of? The South Pole.
The extreme isolation of the station is also worth mentioning. There’s virtually no radio interference or light pollution and minimal mechanical vibration. Even the diesel smoke is no big deal as the prevailing winds move it away from the Clean Air Sector.
All these details make Amundsen-Scott the perfect place to peer into the universe’s mysteries, especially those mysteries so quiet they get drowned out everywhere else.
Jobs and Roles at the Station
Naturally, the isolation comes at a cost. The South Pole Station has to operate self-sufficiently for the months between supply visits. All the scientists, engineers, heavy-equipment operators and other staff need to cooperate. Remember Amundsen’s advice to Byrd — bring only the best people.
During the short summer season, roughly 150 people live at Amundsen-Scott Station. Most are support staff brought in by the U.S. Antarctic Program. Without mechanics to keep generators running and carpenters to repair buildings, no experiment could survive for long.
Astrophysicists, climate scientists, atmospheric chemists, geophysicists, and particle physicists all come and go from the station. Most stay for weeks, some for the full summer. Winter residents have to be chosen carefully.
Not everybody can take eight months of virtual darkness, not to mention temperatures that can go under 100 below. The 40 or so “winter-overs” as they’re called, have to be on their toes. If a generator fails or a telescope motor seizes, they’re the only ones who can attempt a fix.
Authority at the station is split between the NSF station manager, the scientists leading for major projects, and various support heads. It’s a professional hierarchy that demands cooperation — Antarctica punishes ego.
Daily Life and Precautions
Sometimes fatally. Cold is a constant danger everywhere in and around the station, but it’s not the only one. Under these conditions, even simple tasks can become a fight to survive.
Rule No. 1 at the station is never step outside without checking the weather and your gear first. Wind chills can send temps plunging to minus 100°F. That’s cold enough to freeze exposed skin in under a minute.
The thin air at the pole is also a challenge. Many newcomers experience altitude headaches or shortness of breath when they first arrive. Even after the body acclimates, staying hydrated is a medical requirement in the frozen desert of the pole.
During winter-over months, total darkness can swallow the station, so stepping outside requires following rope lines and reflective markers. “Don’t lose the rope line” is a common and lifesaving piece of advice.
Even indoors, the station is full of tiny adaptation tricks. Humidifiers run constantly to keep sinuses from cracking. People tape items their desks during vibration-heavy generator cycles. Static electricity becomes so powerful that people learn to ground on metal surfaces to avoid painful shocks.
Recreation, Routines, and Social Life
You might be wondering how people destress in this very stressful environment. The hub of social life is the galley, which doubles as dining hall, meeting space, movie theater, and game room. After dinner, people drift into card games, trivia nights, and movie marathons.
The station gym is also well-used. With no place to take a casual walk outside the treadmills, rowing machines, and weight racks become essential for fitness and sanity. Many winter-overs say the gym is where friendships form fastest.
Creativity thrives at the pole, too. People form music clubs, start craft nights, write short stories, or run photography workshops. Lots of creators make blogs and vlogs, which are the primary sources of this video.
In addition to all this are the station unique traditions. There’s the annual “Race Around the World” that circles all 24 time zones, in 2.1 miles. One of the sites along the way is Spoolhenge, an ancient monument made by stacking cable spools from IceCube and other projects.
And then, of course, there’s the 300 Club. To join the club, pledges must sit in a 200 degree sauna for ten minutes or so then speed walk outside wearing boots alone in –100 degree air. That’s a 300-degree temperature swing, thus the name. in minutes.
The walk from the sauna takes prospective members around the ceremonial pole and back again. There’s an art to the walk evidently, as moving too slowly will result in frostbite and moving too fast can injure the lungs.
There are bystanders to cheer on the naked participants and booze waiting back inside. All-in-all it’s a worthy tradition that rewards a healthy intake of cinnamon rolls. And if you survive, there’s a patch to sew on your clothing — definitely worth the risk.
Rules, Black Markets, and Station Secrets
Officially, the station follows NSF regulations: no alcohol abuse, no weapons, no recreational drugs, no wandering off alone, and no interfering with scientific equipment. In practice it’s a culture that relies of mutual trust.
Contraband does exist but its mostly in small and harmless forms. People stash comfort snacks, favorite alcohol brands, and small luxuries here and there. The black market, such as it is, comes down to a system of barter. Lime juice appears on want lists by winter-overs, also fresh ginger, with some scandalous claims made about what fans will do to get it.
Speaking of which…. Folks like me who have never been imagine lots of dark secrets and romantic interludes down south. There aren’t a lot of stories out there, at least not in the places they usually leak out. Two of Robert Scott’s men may have had a tryst — a Lieutenant Pennell recorded being “absurdly in love” with a surgeon named Atkinson in his diary — but if he did more than write about his feelings, it’s lost to time.
The station also lacks much in the way of unexplained mysteries. The death of Rodney Marks is an obvious exception. Strange sounds have been heard but the scientifically-minded pole residents tend to put them down to wind, not ghosts.
Finally on this section on life at the pole, it’s worth nothing that Internet service is slow with high latency and frequent dropouts. There’s no fiber connection, or anything of the kind, only on a shared satellite connections. Starlink provides better service elsewhere on the continent but it’s forbidden at the station as the signal would interfere with scientific research.
Lessons for Future Space Habitats
Living at the South Pole has often been compared to living on another planet. With that angle in mind, the biggest lesson Amundsen-Scott as a habitat has taught is the value of smart, flexible engineering. The snow-shedding architecture of the Elevated Station was devised after previous structures lost the fight with the inevitable.
Snow’s gonna snow. It’s better to accommodate that harsh truth than lean on workarounds. What specific application that principle has to the Moon or Mars I don’t know but it’s good to keep in mind.
One definite carryover is the value of redundancy. Power, life support, and communications systems all need backups. Everything critical does, including the backups themselves.
Another lesson comes from logistics. The Pole survives months without resupply thanks in large part to careful planning and resident know-how. “Take only the best” is good advice off-world as it is in the Antarctic.
But the most critical lesson from the pole to future explorers is about how quickly isolation reshapes time. Without sunrise or sunset, the days begin to blur. Residents at Amundsen-Scott fight that by imposing new structures o their lives and future deep space crews should expect to do the same.
Floating in a timeless void is no way to live, at least not for long. It’s the routine of work, meals, and exercise that make them a sanity saver. Add the occasional naked fun run and you’ve got the recipe for surviving the long dark.
Truly, it is at the intersection of tedium and nudity where our noblest instincts are found. ;p
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