Antarctic station"Amundsen-Scott"; in front of the flags a striped pole is visible, indicating earth's axis(January 2006)
The station was built in November 1956 for scientific purposes by order of the US government.
Chronology
Dome (1975-2003)
The aluminum unheated “tent” is a landmark of the pole. There were even Postal office, shop and pub.
Any building at the pole is quickly surrounded by snow, and the design of the dome was not the most successful. A huge amount of fuel was wasted to remove snow, and delivery of a liter of fuel costs $7.
The 1975 equipment is completely outdated.
New scientific complex (since 2003)
The unique design on stilts allows snow not to accumulate near the building, but to pass under it. The sloped shape of the bottom of the building allows the wind to be directed under the building, which helps blow snow away. But sooner or later the snow will cover the piles, and then it will be possible to jack up the station twice (this ensures the service life of the station from 30 to 45 years).
Construction materials were delivered by Hercules aircraft from McMurdo Station on the shore and only during daylight hours. More than 1000 flights were made.
The complex contains:
- 11-kilometer low-frequency antenna for observing and predicting celestial and cosmic storms,
- the tallest 10-meter telescope at the pole, rising 7 floors up and weighing 275 thousand kg
- drilling rig (depth - up to 2.5 km) for studying neutrinos.
On January 15, 2008, in the presence of the leadership of the US National Science Foundation and other organizations, the American flag was lowered from the dome station and raised in front of the new modern complex. The station can accommodate up to 150 people in summer and about 50 in winter.
Climate
| Climate "Amundsen-Scott" | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Jan. | Feb. | March | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sep. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Year |
| Absolute maximum, °C | −14,4 | −20,6 | −26,7 | −27,8 | −25,1 | −28,8 | −33,9 | −32,8 | −29,3 | −25,1 | −18,9 | −12,3 | −12,3 |
| Average maximum, °C | −25,9 | −38,1 | −50,3 | −54,2 | −53,9 | −54,4 | −55,9 | −55,6 | −55,1 | −48,4 | −36,9 | −26,5 | −46,3 |
| Average temperature, °C | −28,4 | −40,9 | −53,7 | −57,8 | −58 | −58,9 | −59,8 | −59,7 | −59,1 | −51,6 | −38,2 | −28 | −49,5 |
| Average minimum, °C | −29,4 | −42,7 | −57 | −61,2 | −61,7 | −61,2 | −62,8 | −62,5 | −62,4 | −53,8 | −40,4 | −29,3 | −52 |
| Absolute minimum, °C | −41,1 | −58,9 | −71,1 | −75 | −78,3 | −82,8 | −80,6 | −79,3 | −79,4 | −72 | −55 | −41,1 | −82,8 |
| Source: Weather and Climate | |||||||||||||
Minimum temperature in the south geographic pole Earth was −82.8 °C, 6.8 °C higher than the absolute temperature minimum on the planet and at the Vostok station (there it was −89.6 °C), 0.8 °C lower than unofficially minimum recorded in 1916 in Oymyakon - the coldest winter city in Russia and Northern Hemisphere and was celebrated on June 23, 1982, one day after the date of the summer solstice. IN this century most severe frost at Amundsen-Scott was observed on August 1, 2005, -79.3 °C.
Activity
In summer, the station's population is usually more than 200 people. Most staff leave by mid-February, leaving only a few dozen people (43 in 2009) wintering, mostly support staff plus several scientists who maintain the station during the several months of Antarctic night. Winterers are isolated from the rest of the world from mid-February to the end of October, during which time they face many dangers and stress. The station is completely self-sufficient in winter period, is supplied with power from three generators running on JP-8 aviation fuel.
Research at the station includes sciences such as glaciology, geophysics, meteorology, upper atmospheric physics, astronomy, astrophysics and biomedical research. Most scientists work in low-frequency astronomy; low temperature and the low humidity of polar air, combined with altitudes of over 2,743 m (9,000 ft), provide much greater air clarity at some frequencies than is typical elsewhere on the planet, and months of darkness allow sensitive equipment to operate continuously.
Events
In January 2007, the station was visited by a group of Russian high officials, including FSB chiefs Nikolai Patrushev and Vladimir Pronichev. Expedition, led by polar explorer Artur Chilingarov, took off from Chile on two Mi-8 helicopters and landed on South Pole.
TV show aired on September 6, 2007 Man Made National Geographic Channel with an episode about the construction of a new building here.
November 9, 2007 program Today NBC, with co-writer Ann Curry, reported via satellite phone, which was broadcast on live from the South Pole.
On Christmas Day 2007, two base employees got into a drunken fight and were evacuated.
In popular culture
Every year the station staff gathers to watch the films “The Thing” and “The Shining”
The station has featured prominently in a number of science fiction television series, including the film The X-Files: Fight for the Future.
Station at the South Pole called Snowcap Base was the site of the first Cybermen invasion of Earth in the 1966 series Doctor Who The Tenth Planet.
In film White mist(2009) takes place at Amundsen-Scott Station, although the buildings in the film are completely different from the real ones.
The Amundsen-Scott station appears in Evgeniy Golovin's song "Antarctica".
Is a wonder of the world computer game Sid Meiers Civilization VI, namely in the Rise and Fall add-on.
Time zone
At the South Pole, sunset and sunrise are theoretically visible only once a year, at the autumn and spring equinoxes respectively, but due to atmospheric refraction the sun rises and sets over more than four days every time. There is no solar time here; there is no pronounced daily maximum or minimum height of the sun above the horizon. The station uses
In Antarctica, near the south pole, a ceremony was held to officially open the new complex of facilities at the Amudsen-Scott Station. First American station at the South Pole appeared in 1956 to coincide with the International Geophysical Year (the launch of the first Soviet satellite was also timed to coincide with it).
When opened (in 1956), the station was located exactly at the South Pole, but at the beginning of 2006, due to ice movement, the station was approximately 100 meters from the geographic south pole.
The station got its name in honor of the discoverers of the south pole - R. Amundsen and R. Scott, who reached their goal in 1911-1912.
In 1975, a new complex of structures came into operation, the main one of which was the dome, under which there were residential and scientific premises. The dome was designed to accommodate up to 44 people in summer and up to 18 in winter. But over time, the capacity of the dome and the structures attached to it became insufficient, and in 1999 the construction of a new complex began.
The aluminum unheated “tent” is a landmark of the pole. There was even a post office, a shop and a pub.
Any building at the pole is quickly surrounded by snow and the design of the dome was not the most successful. A huge amount of fuel was wasted to remove snow, and delivery of a liter of fuel costs $7.
The equipment from 1975 is completely outdated.
The main feature is modularity and adjustable height - the main modules are raised on hydraulic supports. This will protect the station from being covered with snow, as happened with the first station and partially with the dome. The existing headroom should be enough for fifteen winters, and if necessary, the supports can rise another 7.5 meters
Station personnel moved into new buildings back in 2003, but it took several more years to complete the construction of additional facilities and modernize existing ones. January 15, in the presence of the leadership of the National scientific foundation USA and other organizations, the American flag was lowered from the dome station and raised in front of the new complex. According to the project, the station will be able to accommodate up to 150 people in summer and about 50 in winter. Research will be conducted across the whole complex, from astrophysics to seismology.
The unique design on stilts allows snow not to accumulate near the building, but to pass under it. And the sloping shape of the lower part of the building allows the wind to be directed under the building, which would additionally blow out snow. But sooner or later the snow will cover the piles and then it will be possible to jack up the station twice, which increased the service life of the station from 30 to 45 years.
Construction materials were delivered by Hercules aircraft from McMurdo Station on the shore and only during daylight hours. More than 1000 flights were made.
The complex has an 11-kilometer low-frequency antenna for predicting celestial and cosmic storms, the highest 10-meter telescope at the pole, rising 7 floors up and weighing 275 thousand kg. and a drilling rig (up to 2.5 km) to study neutrinos.
On January 15, 2008, in the presence of the leadership of the US National Science Foundation and other organizations, the American flag was lowered from the dome station and raised in front of the new modern complex. The station will be able to accommodate up to 150 people in summer and about 50 in winter.
What has Robert Scott been doing all these years? Like many of Her Majesty's naval officers, he pursues an ordinary naval career.
Scott was promoted to lieutenant in 1889; two years later he enters the mine and torpedo school. Having completed it in 1893, he served for some time in the Mediterranean Sea, and then in family circumstances returns to his native shores.
By that time, Scott knew not only navigation, pilotage and minecraft. He also mastered surveying instruments, learned location survey, well versed in the basics of electricity and magnetism. In 1896, he was appointed as an officer to a squadron located in the English Channel.
It was at this time that Scott’s second meeting took place with K. Markham, who, having already become president of the Royal Geographical Society, persistently urged the government to send an expedition to Antarctica. During conversations with Markham, the officer gradually becomes captivated by this idea... so as not to part with it ever again.
However, about three more years passed before Scott made his fateful decision. With the support of Markham, he submits a report on his desire to lead an expedition to the extreme south of the Earth. After months of overcoming various kinds obstacles, in June 1900, Captain Second Rank Robert Scott finally receives command of the National Antarctic Expedition.
So, by an amazing coincidence, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the two main participants in the future grandiose competition were almost simultaneously ready for their first independent polar expeditions.
But if Amundsen was going to go to the North, then Scott intended to conquer the extreme South. And while Amundsen in 1901 took a test voyage on his ship in North Atlantic, Scott is already heading to Antarctica.
Scott's expedition on the Discovery ship arrived on the shores ice continent at the beginning of 1902. For the winter the ship was placed in the Ross Sea (southern part Pacific Ocean).
It passed safely, and in the Antarctic spring, in November 1902, Scott set off for the first time on a trip to the south with two companions - the military sailor Ernst Shackleton and the naturalist scientist Edward Wilson, secretly hoping to reach the South Pole.
True, it seems somewhat strange that, planning to do this with the help of dogs, they did not consider it necessary to acquire the necessary experience in handling dog sleds in advance. The reason for this was the British ideas (which later turned out to be fatal) about dogs as not very important vehicle in Antarctic conditions.
This is evidenced, in particular, by the following fact. For some time ahead of Scott's main group there was an auxiliary party with additional stock food, personally dragging several sleighs with a load, and with a flag on which there was a proud inscription: “We do not need the services of dogs.” Meanwhile, when Scott and his comrades set out on a hike on November 2, 1902, they were surprised by the speed with which the dogs pulled their loaded sleigh.
However, pretty soon the animals lost their initial agility. And it was not only unusual difficult road, numerous uneven surfaces covered with deep, loose snow. The main reason Poor-quality food caused the dogs to quickly lose strength.
With limited help from dogs, the expedition progressed slowly. In addition, snowstorms often raged, forcing travelers to stop and wait out the bad weather in a tent. In clear weather, the snow-white surface, easily reflecting Sun rays, caused snow blindness in people.
But, despite all this, Scott's group was able to reach 82 degrees 17" south latitude, where no man had ever set foot before. Here, after weighing all the pros and cons, the pioneers decided to turn back. This turned out to be timely , because soon the dogs, one after another, began to die of exhaustion.
The weakest animals were killed and fed to the rest. It ended with the people, again, harnessing themselves to the sleigh. Enormous physical exertion in extremely unfavorable conditions natural conditions quickly exhausted their strength.
Shackleton's symptoms of scurvy began to appear more and more clearly. He was coughing and spitting blood. Bleeding was less evident in Scott and Wilson, who began to pull the sled together. Shackleton, weakened by his illness, somehow trudged behind them. Finally, three months later, in early February 1903, all three returned to Discovery.
Amundsen-Scott station: travel seasonality, life at the station, reviews of tours to the Amundsen-Scott station.
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“Place of residence - South Pole” - this is what the inhabitants of the American polar base “Amundsen-Scott” could rightfully write in their personal questionnaire. Founded in 1956 and continuously inhabited year-round ever since, Amundsen-Scott Station is an example of how humans can adapt to the most unfavorable conditions life. And not only adapt - build a comfortable home that can withstand the harsh climate of Antarctica for many years. In the era of commercial expeditions to the South Pole, the Amundsen-Scott became a host home for tourists who came to trample underfoot the extreme southern point Earth. Travelers spend only a few hours here, but during this time they manage to get acquainted with the amazing life of the station and even send a postcard home with the stamp “South Pole”.
A little history
Amundsen-Scott is the first Antarctic station in the interior of the continent. It was founded in 1956, 45 years after the conquest of the South Pole, and bears the name of the glorious pioneers of the icy continent - the Norwegian Roald Amundsen and the Englishman Robert Scott. At the time of its founding, the station was located exactly at 90° south latitude, but by now, due to the movement of ice, it has deviated slightly from the South Pole point, which is now located about 100 meters from the station.
The original station was built under the ice, and scientific activity was carried out there until 1975. Then a domed base was erected, which served as a home for polar explorers until 2003. And then it appeared here large-scale construction on jack piles, allowing the building to be raised as it becomes covered with snow. According to forecasts, it will last another 30-45 years.
The interiors here are no different from ordinary American “public places” - only massive doors that close like a safe indicate that this is happening in Antarctica.
Climate of the Amundsen-Scott station
The Amundsen-Scott station is located at an altitude of 2800 meters above sea level, which, taking into account the high rarity of the air in the South Pole region, turns into an actual 3500 meters, corresponding to the high mountain regions of the Earth.
The polar day lasts here from September 23 to March 21, and the peak of the “tourist season” occurs in December - January, when the temperature is most suitable for expeditions. At this time of year the thermometer does not show below -30 °C. Well, in winter there is about -60 °C and complete darkness, illuminated only by the northern lights.
Life at Amundsen-Scott Station
From 40 to 200 people permanently live on the Amundsen-Scott - scientists, researchers and professional polar explorers. IN summer period life here is in full swing - after all, outside the window it is a comfortable -22...-30 °C, and the sun shines around the clock. But for the winter, a little more than fifty people remain at the station - to maintain its operation and continue Scientific research. Moreover, from mid-February to the end of October, access here from outside world closed.
The station is literally crammed with high-tech equipment: there is an 11-kilometer antenna for observing cosmic storms, a super-powerful telescope and a drilling rig embedded more than two kilometers into the ice, used for experiments on neutrino particles.
What to see
Tourists are allowed into the Amundsen-Scott station only for a few hours. The interiors are no different from ordinary American “public places” - only massive doors that close like a safe indicate that this is happening in Antarctica. Canteen, gym, hospital, music studio, a laundry and a store, a greenhouse and a post office - that’s all the simple life.