Welcome to South Pole Station

 After nearly a full week of traveling, we're here at the Admunsen/Scott South Pole Station.  There are a few minor differences from McMurdo.  The first is the weather.  As you can see from the weather info, it's significantly colder.   As long as I keep the majority of my face covered, the big red and overalls keep me pretty warm.  Everyone outside walks around with ice crystals frozen on the front of their fleece neck gaiters where their breath has frozen. 

 The other big difference is the access to the internet.  The South Pole only sees satellites for a fraction of their orbit, so there are big gaps in the internet availability.  We've been pretty lucky this year, there are two satellites that are up and cover most of the 'daytime' hours.  I put quotes around daytime because both here and at McMurdo the sun only sets once a year.  Right now, in summer, the sun just circles around the horizon everyday.  24 hours of daylight is pretty strange,

 but I'm getting used to it.  The window in my room is completely sealed off, so that when I go to bed it feels like night.  But last night I was working in the science lab and the sun was coming right in the windows.  It was about 11 pm, but my body thought it was about 3-4 pm.
One last thing about the South Pole, it's at an altitude of about 9306 ft.  But the atmosphere is more dense here at the South Pole (i.e. the pressure drops faster the higher up you are compared to being at the equator), so  the physiological altitude is about 1000 ft higher right now.    The first couple days, going up stairs in my ECW gear definitely left me a little winded, but I'm starting to acclimatize now.

Now that we're here, we've started working with the telescope.  The team of four of us that is here right now (plus our two intrepid winterovers) are working on making precise calibration measurements of our detectors.  Part of this includes going out and working at a site about 3km away from the station where we live, so we get to take a snow mobile.  We use it haul both equipment and people right now. 

At first glance, the South Pole telescope is an engineering masterpiece.  The primary dish (the circular part in the photo) is 10 meters across.  The entire telescope can spin around 360 degrees on its mount to access any portion of the sky. 

I'll try and write some about the telescope, the receiver, and our science in my next post.  I'm not the first person to take this trip, so if you'd like to find out more now, check out the blog of Jason Henning (an SPT grad student) at:  http://destination90south.blogspot.com/ .  He has some awesome pictures of the instrument guts.  The SPT collaboration also has a blog at: https://pole.uchicago.edu/blog/.

There is also an excellent video online that was made last year by the American Museum of Natural History featuring the South Pole telescope.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3pu84BQVxK4

Ice Flight #2

 Spending lots of time on the airfield is bad for productivity, but excellent for photography.  I was able to get some nice shots of the Hercs as well as Mt. Erebus.

After spending two days shuffling back and forth between the PAX (passenger) terminal on the ice airfield, I was doubtful (but still hopeful) that we'd be off as scheduled on our 0800 flight yesterday.    But, it turns out a newly repaired Herc  had made it back to McMurdo from Christchurch the previous evening.  We had one more short delay due to a frozen valve on the plane, and then we were off!   The Herc is louder than the C-17 (rather like being in a train tunnel with many trains going by).   It's a smaller plane with room for both passengers and cargo.  We had two large pallets in the back (with our bags and supplies for the station) and about 30 people on board.  This included a DV (distinguished visitor) who rode in the cockpit the entire trip.  Unfortunately, this meant we could only look out the side windows, but the the view was still amazing.   Flying over the Transantarctic Mountains was like being in a National Geographic film.  They lasted for about an hour and then after that just an unending snowy horizon that is completely flat.    When we finally landed I noticed that some of the air force crew in the back all had their cameras out.  While the plane was still moving on the runway, the cargo door opened and the two pallets went flying out onto the ground while snow was blowing inside the plane.  It was quite the maneuver!  A few minutes later we were off the plane and the Antarctic wind was blowing in my face.   I had my first look at the South Pole Telescope sitting in the distance and then header to the station.  Its is a quick walk over from the runway and suddenly you're inside and in the warmth again.  After another brief orientation video and dropping my bag off in my new room it was time for lunch.

48 Hours of Daylight at McMurdo

After arriving  at the airfield, we rode on a giant red bus across the sea ice to McMurdo base (often called MacTown).  Our final flight to the pole was scheduled for first thing the next morning and we spent the night at McMurdo.

McMurdo is a research station in addition to a transit point, and currently houses a population of about 1000 people.  It's basically its own little town.  It has dorms, a galley, a coffee house, a building with research labs, operations buildings,  a helicopter pad and several more buildings that I haven't been to yet.  People live and work at McMurdo year-round, just like at the South Pole.  

The weather at McMurdo is warmer than at the pole.  Today, for example, the temperature was around -10 C.   McMurdo also has two important amenities that the South Pole doesn't:  24 hr internet access and hot showers four times a week.   McMurdo is at a low enough lattitude (71 degrees S) that it is still able to access many of the geosynchronous satellites in orbit.  The South Pole on the other hand, only sees a couple of satellites above the horizon and therefore the internet is available for a few short hours a day.  Water and energy conservation are extremely important, as everything from food to fuel to beds has to be brought in from somewhere else.  It is easier to get these items to McMurdo than the pole, so the use of the shower is less restricted.  Showers at the pole are restricted to two minutes each, two times a week.

Unfortunately, our flight to the pole was delayed (initially by several hours).    The delay did allow me to go visit the historic Discovery Hut, only a 15 minute walk away from the dorm.    Discovery Hut was constructed by Robert Falcon Scott (along with the rest of his expedition) during an early Antarctic expedition in 1902.   The hut is still there, along with the frozen carcass of a dead seal in front of the door.  I didn't get to go inside (which requires a special permit), but did get some scenic pictures  of the outside as well as the (frozen) ocean.   We also saw two live seals laying right at the bottom of the small cliff the hut sits on top of.    They were just lying there in the sun, occasionally moving a flipper or lifting a head.  The total walk took about 30 minutes, a nice pre-flight stretch.  After that it was off to the transport building to get a ride to the airfield.    Two more hours of waiting at the airfield  our flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems with the Hercules LC-130.    The next day we were on the plane three times, one taxi, one take-off, and once a flight for about twenty minutes before coming back (officially a boomerang).  We're still in McMurdo, and trying again in the morning.

Ice Flight #1

To get to the South Pole from Christchurch requires two more flights.  The first one gets you onto the Antarctic continent, specifically McMurdo base on the coast.  We flew on a US Air Force C-17, along with quite a bit of cargo.  Most of it was on pallets, but there was also a helicopter right in the middle of the plane.  As we increased our altitude, you could hear some of the metal barrels on the pallets making 'ping-ing' sounds from the pressure differential.

 All of the seats are along the side of the plane, and there are just a few windows to look out.  Ear plugs are a must, as it is a loud ride.  The flight lasted about 5 & 1/2 hours, just long enough to do some work, watch a movie, and eat the lunch they gave us.  Personally, I prefer the C-17 to many commercial planes.  There is leg room and you're free to move around! 

 About three hours into the flight, we started seeing large ice flows out the window!  When the edge of the continent was in sight the pilot let us come into the cockpit to look out the front window.

It was just a few short steps off the plane and onto Antarctica.  The first thing you see is a swarm of vehicles and people, and then beyond that the flat expanse of McMurdo sound.  In the distance are several mountains, including Mount Erebus.  Erebus is a volcano, and when we stepped off the plane, it was steaming!  In another month the planes will have to land on a different runway (called Pegasus), because this one is actually on sea ice and will be melting into the ocean. 

ECW

It's no surprise that going to the South Pole (or anywhere in Antarctica) requires specialized equipment.  For people this means clothing.  Luckily, the Antarctic program has a supply center in Christchurch at which every receives a standard set of Extreme Cold Weather Gear (ECW).   So in addition to my personal clothes, I now have the following:

1 set of long underwear
2 pairs of fleece pants
2 fleece tops
1 pair of carhartt overalls (the quilted warm ones)
1 large red parka
1 windbreaker
1 fleece hat
1 balaclava
1 pair thick gloves
2 pairs of mittens (one light weight wool, and one that goes up to my elbows for snowmobiling)
glove liners
2 pairs of thick socks
1 pair bunny boots (insulated white boots)
1 pair goggles
2 orange duffle bags

 Altogether, the whole kit weighs about 15 lbs.   It took about 2 hours in all to try everything on, exchange out things that didn't fit and re-pack the bags.  On each of the flights we are required to have on the overalls, boots, parka, gloves, hat and goggles.  It sounds like a lot, but considering where we were landing it is better to be warm. 

Christchurch, New Zealand

It took around 36 hours end to end, but I arrived yesterday in Christchurch along with several other SPT travelers.    Christchurch is the largest city on the South island, and is the location of the Antarctic program offices.  We flew on commercial airlines to get here, but the final two flights will be on a US government owned C-17 and LC-130 Hercules planes.  We will attend an orientation and receive our cold weather gear this afternoon.  The flight to McMurdo station is scheduled for tomorrow morning.  The rest of the time here is free for catching up on sleep, working and exploring!

As some of you know,  Christchurch had two major earthquakes and several smaller ones over the past two years.   There was significant building and infrastructure damage as well as loss of life.   I was told that a significant number of residents moved away afterwards.  Our shuttle driver from the airport was pointing out brick walls in front of houses that had fallen down and were now replaced with wood.   On the way to lunch, we walked past a church that was missing quite a bit of its exterior. Its spire was sitting on a wood frame in the front lawn and was held upright by long tethers.  Much of the downtown area is part of the "red zone", where there is no public access.  Last night we walked down past the red zone to go a pub on the other other side.  It was extremely quiet, and a bit eery because it was raining.  There are still tall buildings but some parts were just gravel lots, waiting for someone to rebuild.   

In spite of this,  I still find Christchurch to be a beautiful place full of friendly people.     The whole area is incredibly green, and as we landed yesterday we flew over fields of sheep and cows.  Plants are in full bloom right now, and there are amazing flowers everywhere. 

PQ!

It's official.  I'm Physically Qualified and ticketed to go work at the South Pole!  I received my official luggage tags (which apparently help prevent baggage loss on commercial airlines) and travel packet.  I leave next week and will hopefully be in Antarctica a few days later! 

I must admit, I'm as excited as a kid at Christmas.   I haven't done any field work since we decommissioned APEX-SZ, and I miss it.   Maybe time has softened my perception of the often long and sometimes stressful days, but there is something special about actually touching the telescope and working with the hardware.