The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide ice core drilling project is a major paleoclimate study funded by the National Science Foundation and comprised of 30 individual projects from 16 universities around the United States. Dr. Kendrick Taylor, chief scientist of the Desert Research Institute, is the Principal Investigator.

Read a fact sheet about the WAIS Divide ice core drilling project.

• PowerPoint presentation
• PDF file of presentation

Videos that were included in the presentation (available for download):

• Dan’s Intro to Antarctica Video (Slide 26 in PPT)
• Dan’s South Pole Video (Slide 48 in PPT)
• Earth Gauge South Pole Video (Slide 49 in PPT)
• Joseph Levy Video (Dry Valleys Research, Slide 52 in PPT)
• Earth Gauge Cape Royds Penguin Video (Slide 64 in PPT)

See more Antarctica Resources.

Earth Gauge video, tips and resources may be used freely on-air and online. Use the links below to download the broadcast quality video files in QuickTime format.  The video is split into four segments because of the large file size. 

Download Antarctica Part One (176 MB)

Download Antarctica Part Two (191 MB)

Download Antarctica Part Three (147 MB)

Download Antarctica Part Four (211 MB)

Read excerpts of meteorologist Dan Satterfield’s blog post below to learn how the Ice Cube telescope works. In addition, Dan has created two short videos to describe each of the projects. Dan’s videos and Earth Gauge photos are included here. All are available for download.

The Strangest Telescope on Earth: Ice Cube, by Dan Satterfield

Imagine a particle so small that it could pass through the entire Earth and not run into anything. That particle exists and it is called a neutrino. It has no charge and very little mass. There are a lot of them around. Many trillions pass through you every second but they don’t hit anything either. So why use a telescope to detect them and why do astronomers care?

… Neutrinos have a big advantage over other things we build telescopes to see. They travel in a straight line and they ignore everything they pass through! We cannot see through our Milky Way Galaxy because of clouds of dust. Neutrinos pass right through with no affect. They can pass through almost anything with little or no affect.

… Cosmic rays hitting the atmosphere produce the lower energy neutrinos and our sun produces the trillions per second [high energy neutrinos] that pass through us. Astronomers are most interested in the high energy neutrinos. Those produced in supernova explosions, or the ones coming from the Big Bang when the universe was about two seconds old.

So what happens when a neutrino does hit something? It produces another particle that continues in exactly the same direction and it produces a flash of blue light! That we can see. To detect them and trace where they come from, you need to block out as many of the low energy neighborhood neutrinos as possible, and you need a nice dark place full of something for the neutrino to hit, that is clear so we can see them … How about a one kilometer cube of ice, one kilometer below the South Pole?

It is being constructed now. Scientists are digging holes around 2,500 meters deep and installing an array of detectors on a series of lines dropped into the hole. They dig the holes using heated water. Once they place the sensors, called DOM’s (Digital Optical Modules), they will be frozen in the ice for thousands of years. A whole array of these DOM’s will be used to track the blue light produced by those very unlucky neutrinos that do happen to hit something …

Read the full blog post.

	Huge hoses “drill” holes thousands of feet deep by blasting hot water into the ice sheet at the Ice Cube site. Photo by Ann Posegate. Download image.
	A drill hole at the Ice Cube project. A string of Digital Optical Modules (DOMs — neutrino detectors) are lowered into each hole and left to freeze in the ice, where they will remain for thousands of years. Photo by Ann Posegate. Download image.
	A Digital Optical Module (DOM) signed by Dan Satterfield, Ann Posegate and other media visitors. Photo by Ann Posegate. Download image.
	Two strings of DOMs at a previous drill site, now frozen in the ice sheet. Photo by Ann Posegate. Download here.
	The South Pole Telescope. Photo by Ann Posegate. Download image.

Astronomy, cosmology, meteorology and air quality research will continue throughout the dark winter. Well-geared scientists and support staff will experience temperatures nearly 100 below zero Fahrenheit and wind chills of nearly 150 below whenever they step outside of the station.

The South Pole experiences only one sunset (around March 21) and one sunrise (around September 23) per year. The actual sunset and sunrise each take over 24 hours. During the height of Southern Hemisphere summer, as the Earth rotates, the sun circles 360 degrees around the sky 23 1/2 degrees above the horizon. During the final days before sunset, the same happens at an angle of less than one degree.

View live webcams from Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and McMurdo Station, courtesy of the United States Antarctic Program.

	Days before sunrise at the South Pole, September 8, 2009. Photo by Jeremy Johnson, National Science Foundation.
	Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) over South Pole Station, April 2009. Photo by Patrick Cullis, National Science Foundation.

Lane Patterson manages the South Pole greenhouse. Photo by Dan Satterfield

At the bottom of the Earth, atop a land mass covered with a two mile-thick slab of ice, sits the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station where 40 to 60 people live and work during each long, dark, bitter-cold winter. On the first floor of the station, near the end of hallway is a small greenhouse. Since 2005, this remotely-operated chamber has provided countless fresh vegetables, light and humidity to over 200 winter-over staff and scientists who have spent Southern Hemisphere winters at the coldest, darkest place on Earth. The growth chamber will feed crew members again this winter.

Lane Patterson manages the South Pole greenhouse from his office at the University of Arizona, with help from a team of horticulturalists and engineers. “Through a computer and camera, I’m able to access the chamber and assist with questions that the operator might have,” he said. The chamber grows edible plants in a soil-less hydroponics system of nutrient-rich water; cantaloupe, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, chives fresh herbs, leafy green vegetables like kale and lettuce, sunflowers, nasturtiums and other edibles thrive here throughout the year. Patterson can control the conditions inside the chamber, including temperature, light and even the hydroponic solution in which the plants grow. He communicates remotely with an assistant who maintains the greenhouse in-person at the Pole, and visits once every year or so to check on it.

The chamber provides other benefits besides nutritious vegetables. “It provides us with bright light in the dark winter. It provides us with high humidity in the dry environment. It provides us with a green environment — something that we miss for the eight months of being isolated as a researcher or someone who supports a researcher here at the South Pole.”

Staff also enjoy going into the chamber to read, relax or hang out with others. Some even reserve the room for dinner dates (there is a small table and couch in the foyer to the chamber). A humid environment, even if in a small chamber, is a welcome relief for chapped lips and dry skin. Relative humidity at the South Pole is in the single digits; in the chamber, it’s 60 percent. In addition, each staff member is allowed only two showers per week, each two minutes long. The Station’s water supply is low and conservation is important: using water requires ice to be melted. But, the benefit of using water for plant growth outweigh the use of energy to melt it.

“The growth chamber is really a big ‘growbot’ — it’s a robot that grow things,” said Patterson. It requires about 140 liters of water, sequesters about one kilogram of carbon dioxide and uses about 281 kilowatt hours of energy (equivalent to eight gallons of gasoline) per day. In turn, it produces about half a kilogram of oxygen and six kilograms of biomass (raw plant matter) each day.

The South Pole greenhouse is similar to another of Patterson’s projects at the University of Arizona’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center: the lunar greenhouse. The South Pole project analyzes air revitalization in a remote environment that could help future greenhouse projects in space. “We’re looking at using plants to revitalize the air that a person breathes. We’re asking the questions: How many plants do you need? How much photosynthesis do you have to have? What are the resources that are needed to cycle the amount of oxygen a person breathes daily? … How it relates to the South Pole is that a Bioregenerative Life Support System on the moon, say, would be a place that if it used BLSS, it would be isolated, it would be a station with a small crew in a very dangerous environment. And that’s what the South Pole is,” Patterson said.

To learn more about the project and view photos, visit http://ag.arizona.edu/CEAC.

Broadcast meteorologist Dan Satterfield tours the greenhouse. Photo courtesy of Satterfield.

What is a typical day like at South Pole?

A typical day here in the summer months at the meteorology department is really to observe the weather here (right now we have some very deteriorating weather conditions). What we’re doing is observing and coding this to help support the flight operations that go on, not only here at South Pole, but all around the continent as well. We are also looking at the climatology of the South Pole and Antarctica as a whole. We’ve been taking weather observations here since 1957 . So, over 52 years of continuous weather data here has given us a great climatological database in terms of studying the atmospheric conditions: the temperature, the clouds and the trends … basically, what’s going on on the continent.

What are some of those trends, especially as far as temperature data at South Pole Station?

The temperature trends here at South Pole Station are quite puzzling, actually. Interestingly enough, South Pole, since 1957, has been getting a little bit colder every year. We’re actually about 3.5 degrees Celsius [6.3 degrees Fahrenheit] colder now than when we starting taking records back in the late ’50s. No one really knows why that is happening. Also, oddly enough, 2009 (we just compiled our annual temperature and weather data for 2009) was the warmest year on record down here at South Pole. So, even though we are trending toward the colder end in terms of the long-term, in the short-term it has been very variable and we have seen warmer-than-usual temperatures here.

Can you explain the temperature trends on the Antarctic coast versus South Pole?

What we’re seeing on the coast of Antarctica is very similar to what we’re seeing up in the Arctic as well. Temperatures are going up by as much as six degrees [10.8 degrees Fahrenheit]. We’re seeing large blocks of ice that are breaking away from the ice shelves here along the coast, especially toward the Antarctic peninsula out toward South America … that area of the Antarctic, especially. But, here in the interior of the continent — and only at South Pole — are we seeing it get colder. Other interior stations like Vostok or Dome Fuji … they’re still trending warmer as well. So, that might actually be linked to, say, the ozone hole, which is most prevalent here at South Pole. There are theories that those two are tied together, but nothing proven as of yet.

What is the worst weather you have seen in Antarctica?

Oddly enough, we don’t really get “bad” weather here; it’s either very cold and very calm or it’s kind of like today, when winds are picking up and it’s foggy. But, with the winds and the fog come warmer temperatures. I would say the worst weather is a mix of the two in the heart of wintertime, when the temperature is still a little bit cold — minus 60, minus 70 [-75, -95 Fahrenheit]– and then those winds shift and start picking up and we can see wind chills down around minus 150 [-238 Fahrenheit].

With little precipitation, nearly constant below-freezing temperatures and very little exposed soil, very little decomposition takes place in Antarctica. In the early years of the now 53-year-old United States Antarctic Program (USAP), solid waste was incinerated, buried under ice or dumped off the coast and in a would-be landfill near McMurdo Station. The Antarctic Conservation Act of 1991 brought new environmental regulations into effect, including better management of waste. Currently, all waste generated from USAP is collected and shipped to a landfill and recycling station in California, with the exception of waste from Palmer Station on the Antarctic peninsula, which is shipped to Chile. Recycling is mandatory, and 65 percent of all waste is recycled. Large and well-marked bins collect glass, paper, plastic, cardboard, food waste, metal and construction materials. The Antarctic Conservation Act has truly reduced the impact of science research in Antarctica, especially when it comes to waste.

In recent years, environmental changes in and around their habitat have been occurring at a rapid rate. A strong Southern Annular Mode in the southern Atlantic, the presence of the Ozone ‘hole’ and the position of two pressure systems off the western coast of Antarctica have changes the wind patterns around the continent and increased the polar jet, thus changing how heat is distributed in the Southern Ocean and the extent and range of sea ice the Antarctic.

According to David Ainley, a marine biologist who has been studying Antarctic penguins for the past 20 years, this changing winds have pulled warm air from South America toward the Antarctic Peninsula — the tail of land closest to South America — and pulled warm air away from the Ross Sea, which is further south. Thus, there has been a decrease in sea ice extent around the Peninsula and an increase in sea ice extent in the Ross Sea; penguin populations on the Peninsula are decreasing, while those along the Ross Sea are increasing or remaining stable. While less sea ice on the Peninsula makes it easier for Adélies to get food, they are adapted to life in the cold and cannot survive well in warmer temperatures on the Peninsula.

One exception to colony growth in the Ross Sea is the Cape Royds colony — the southernmost penguin breeding colony in the world — where an iceberg grounded at the edge of the McMurdo Sound in 2000, locking the sea ice in the Sound and preventing penguins from being able to get to open water to feed — an effect that lasted six seasons. Over the past two years, the Cape Royds colony have again begun to grow.

According to Ainley, penguins are the “canary in the coal mine” of Antarctica: “Both species of penguins are moving big time. It’s not like a person moving to a new condo. Penguins are showing humans that they will soon need to be moving too.”

Emperor penguins are even more attached to sea ice: they breed on it! Learn more about the effects of climate change on Antarctic penguins at www.penguinscience.com.

[See post to watch Flash video]	Nick Morgan discusses monitoring air at the South Pole Download QuickTime video file.
	South Pole Atmospheric Research Observatory. Photo by Ann Posegate. Download high resolution image.

The South Pole holds the longest-running carbon dioxide (CO2) record in the world, and one that has displayed an upward trend in annual levels. Measurements at the South Pole set a baseline value for the rest of the world. Antarctica has the cleanest air on Earth: it is thousands of miles from human civilization, and there is no vegetation to affect the carbon cycle. In addition, the Clean Air Sector, where ARO is located, is positioned downwind from the prevailing wind direction — where winds blow from 90 percent of the time — and upwind from the main station, thereby reducing the site’s influence from human activities (view a map of all global monitoring stations to see just how remote it is). Also, there are no vehicles, foot travelers or flight landings permitted around the Observatory.

According to Morgan, the ozone ‘hole’ is not yet recovering, but remaining steady. It is expected to begin recovering in the next 10 to 20 years. ARO has started to see a decline in Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were banned by the Montreal Protocol in 1989. Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) — the replacement for CFCs — are less harmful to ozone, but will also be phased out over the next five years. Nick and his team launch ozonesondes once a week to monitor ozone levels, temperature, frost point and air pressure in the stratosphere. All data is sent digitally to the NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory/Global Monitoring Division in Boulder, Colorado. Research is currently being conducted on the relationship of the ozone ‘hole’ and the effects of changing air temperatures over Antarctica.

ARO also measures aerosols, which serve as cloud nuclei and thus have a large affect on incoming and outgoing radiation, playing an important role in climate and the Earth’s temperature regulation.

To learn more about the South Pole Atmospheric Research Observatory, visit http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/obop/spo/observatory.html. For ozone data and visuals, see http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/dv/spo_oz/.

• Ice Stream Stability: Ice streams are areas of continental ice sheets where inland ice flows rapidly into the ocean – they can be characterized as “rivers of ice.” Subglacial lakes are an important component of ice stream dynamics. A series of large lakes sit at the onset of the Recovery ice stream, which comprises eight percent of the East Antarctic ice sheet, providing the initial “lubricant” for ice destabilization and movement (which occurs at a rate of about 320 feet per year). The periodic drainage of these lakes can lead to periodic accelerations in ice flow as well. Better understanding the relationship between subglacial lakes and the ice that covers them is crucial to predicting future rates of continental ice loss and sea level rise.
• Unique Ecosystems: Because subglacial lakes have been essentially untouched by sunlight, oxygen and other ecosystems for millions of years, the life that does exist in these lakes is unique and potentially analogous to early life on Earth, particularly life that survived in extensive glacial periods of Earth’s distant past (500-1,000 million years ago). Samples taken from outlet water flowing from a subglacial lake 500 yards below Taylor Glacier in West Antarctica reveal that the microorganisms living there use a series of reactions with sulfate and ferric iron to “breathe” and metabolize the limited organic matter in this virtually oxygen-free environment. Similar reactions have been performed in laboratories, but no where else on Earth have such ecosystems been found. The scouring of the iron rich rocks by the massive ice sheets is thought to be the source of the nutrients that feed this life.

To see depictions of Antarctica’s subglacial lake networks and Lake Vostok, visit http://www.earthgauge.net/climate-facts-image-library#4. These images come from the National Science Foundation and are in the public domain.

Seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Sources: Grom, Jack. “Ancient Ecosystem Discovered Beneath Antarctic Glacier.” ScienceNOW Daily News 16 April 2009. Accessed Online 14 January 2010 and Bell, RE et al. “Large subglacial lakes in East Antarctica at the onset of fast-flowing ice streams.” Nature 445 (2007): 904-907 and Mikucki, JA et al. “A Contemporary Microbially Maintained Subglacial Ferrous ‘Ocean.’” Science 324 (2009): 397-400 and Christner, BC et al. “Limnological conditions in Subglacial Lake Vostok, Antarctica.” Limnology and Oceanography 51 (2006): 2485-2501.

Ecologically, a desert is an ecosystem that receives less than 10 inches of precipitation per year. Despite the fact that 98 percent of Antarctica is covered with ice, the continent is the world’s largest and driest desert; it is classified as a polar, or cold, desert rather than a hot desert like the Sahara. The Dry Valleys region, comprising most of the two percent of Antarctica not covered in ice, is one of the most unique ecosystems in the world. It receives little to no measurable precipitation each year; it is ice-free because of the high mountain ridge that blocks the flow of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet into the region; and the ground is permanently frozen.

Scientists from many disciplines, including biology, geology, chemistry, seismology and glaciology, are working together in the Dry Valleys to determine the ancient history of the region and the climatic changes that shaped it. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is studying how the Dry Valleys region compares to the surface of Mars three million years ago. You can do a virtual fly-through of Taylor Valleys, one of the Dry Valleys, courtesy of the National Science Foundation’s Long-Term Ecological Research project there: http://www.mcmlter.org/video/fly_through.htm.

The Dry Valleys house several lakes, including Don Juan Pond, which contains so many salts and minerals that it never freezes, even in sub-zero Antarctic temperatures.

Because the Dry Valleys lack rainwater and heat to aid in decomposition, animals that die there become mummified. Contaminants can remain there long after they are leaked, so environmental protection is of the utmost importance. Everything brought into the Valleys – including human waste – must be collected and shipped back to the country of origin, and no natural materials such as rocks or animal fur may be removed. The McMurdo Dry Valleys area was one of the first regions designated as an Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA).

View photos and descriptions of Ann and Dan’s trip to the Dry Valleys at Dan’s Wild Wild Weather blog and below.

	Lake Vanda in the Wright Valley contains more salt than the Dead Sea. Download high resolution photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)
	The edge of the Canada Glacier. Download high resolution photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)
	The Lake Hoare field site in Taylor Valley. Canada glacier is in the background. Download high resolution photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)
	Taylor Glacier carving through Taylor Valley. Download high resolution photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)
	The Lake Hoare field site, lower left center, at the base of the Canada Glacier. Download high resolution photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)
	A seal that has been mummified for six years. Seals and penguins that have died in the Dry Valleys — even thousands of years ago — are still there. Download high resolution photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)

• Ozone Depletion: The most pronounced rates of ozone depletion have occurred over Antarctica, where the ozone hole forms during the spring months. While the strong westerly winds that “trap” frigid air around the continent during winter make the ozone hole possible, the hole itself works as a feedback by accentuating the pressure difference between the continent and the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. This works to strengthen the winds responsible for the ozone hole in the first place.
• Wind Shifts: The accentuation of the pole to mid-latitude pressure difference linked to ozone depletion has deepened several of the continent’s low pressure zones, strengthening some of the winds that blow from the continent over the ocean during the autumn months. This has led to increases in sea ice over several of Antarctica’s coastal regions.
• Freshwater on the Ocean Surface: Increased precipitation around Antarctica and melting of the glaciers that sit on the land have led to freshening of the ocean surface waters. This promotes ice formation.

Shifts in the winds have also caused decreases in sea ice extent in some areas of the continent – specifically parts of the Southern Ocean adjacent to the Indian Ocean and the Amundsen-Bellingshausen Sea sectors. These losses have been more than compensated for by gains in other areas.

Seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Source: Turner, J et al. “Non-annular atmospheric circulation change induced by stratospheric ozone depletion and its role in the recent increase in Antarctic sea ice extent.” Geophysical Research Letters 36 (2009): L08502.

There are some experiences in life that you just won’t forget. Then they are those that only few humans in our history have had the chance to experience – in fact, those that humans are not supposed to experience. Visiting the South Pole is one of them.

At the South Pole, there are no hurricanes, but there are near-hurricane force winds. There is little snowfall, but you are standing on a mile-thick ice sheet that covers the continent beneath. Every direction is north and the summer sun never sets. There are no trees and little oxygen, but somehow human life survives.

Two nights ago, about 15 other South Pole visitors and I were again involved in a boomerang flight due to Antarctic weather – but this time, we were fortunate enough to get stuck on an overnight at the Pole. By this point, we were used to the polar skies calling the shots and being flexible with the outcomes. We made the best of it, and in fact, it has already become one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

The South Pole is a three-hour flight away from McMurdo Station, the base of the United States Antarctic Program (USAP). At an elevation of 9,300 feet above sea level (which feels like 11,000-12,000 feet due to a thinner atmosphere and 25 percent less oxygen than at sea level), the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is the highest of the three USAP stations. Dedicated in 2008, it is the U.S. Antarctic Program’s most recent building, and houses some of the world’s most brilliant scientists and important research in air quality, earth science, space physics and cosmology.

The Pole is located on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet – a huge glacier that slowly moves over the land mass beneath. Thus, the geographic Pole marker is moved about 30 feet every year for accuracy.

Technically, every direction is north from the perspective of the Pole. So, the station operates on a directional grid system. Greenwich, England, is toward “grid North,” New Zealand “grid South,” Cape Town “grid East,” the United States “grid Northwest,” and so on.

Weather there can change quickly and is difficult to predict, especially given only two satellite passes per day and sparese internet connection. But, in some ways it is much less eventful than weather in the United States: it is either cold and sunny or cold and cloudy, and usually windy. It rarely receives measurable precipitation. Within the 24 hours of our visit, the sun remained at about a 21 degree angle over the horizon as it rotated through the sky – rather, as the Earth rotated - resulting in no sunrise, sunset or diurnal (day-to-night) temperature changes.

In the low pressure systems we are familiar with in the mid-Atlantic, warm air from the surface rises, cools, condenses and forms clouds. But at the Pole, there is typically a temperature inversion, with cooler air near the surface and warmer air aloft. Thus, in a low pressure system there, cool air rises and warms, bringing clear skies. On the contrary, in a South Pole high pressure system, warm air sinks and cools, forming clouds.

The past few days have been a good reminder that, no matter where you are, you can plan for the day’s weather, but the atmosphere doesn’t always give you what you expect.

This information is also posted at washingtonpost.com.

Related photos for download:

	Ann Posegate standing at the ceremonial South Pole Download photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)
	South Pole meteorologist Timothy Markle lauches a weather balloon outside of the station. Download high resolution photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)

While the vortex is a local phenomenon, the strength and annual duration of the westerly winds that create the polar vortex are influenced by a larger phenomenon called the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), the difference in atmospheric pressure between 40 and 65 degrees South. When this difference is relatively large, the westerly winds around Antarctica are particularly strong, leading to a stronger vortex and more ozone destruction. High concentrations of ozone, however, can affect the movements of air between the stratosphere and troposphere, ultimately affecting the SAM itself. Better understanding this “coupling” between the SAM and the ozone hole will be needed for better weather and climate prediction, as well as for predicting future ozone concentrations.

Seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Sources: Sparling, B. “The Antarctic Ozone Hole.” NAS Educational Resources. 2001. Accessed Online 10 January 2009 and Fogt, RL et al. “Intra-annual relationships between polar ozone and the SAM.” Geophysical Research Letters 36 (2009): L04707 and Son, SW et al. “Ozone hole and Southern Hemisphere climate change.” Geophysical Research Letters 36 (2009): L15705.

Yesterday, Ann and Dan spent a (relatively) warm and sunny day at McMurdo Station.  In addition to spotting some Adelie penguins, they watched the southern-most rugby game in the world, played near New Zealand’s Scott Base between the Kiwis and Americans…the Kiwis won. (Photo courtesy of Dan Satterfield.)

Today, our traveling reporters are visiting the South Pole - the geographic bottom of the Earth.  Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station sits on a 9,000 foot-thick ice plateau.  Because the ice sheet gradually moves over land toward the sea, the offical South Pole marker needs to be moved about 30 feet every year to stay accurate.  Luckily, it was adjusted at the beginning of 2010!

Travel to and from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station only occurs from October to February.  The original  South Pole Station was built in 1956-57 and is now buried under snow. A second station was built in 1975 under a geodesic dome (think Disney’s Epcot), and a brand new, state-of-the-art elevated South Pole station was dedicated in January 2008.

Ann and Dan will be learning about ozone research at the pole and visiting the South Pole Telescope.  The South Pole Telescope is the largest telescope ever deployed to the South Pole, which was completed in early 2007.  The goals of the Telescope are to investigate Dark Energy and Dark Matter, which will help determine the age and make-up of the Universe, how it has changed as it has aged, how it works now and what it may look like in the future. The instrument’s first major scientific breakthrough included the detection of four galaxy clusters in 2008, three of which are new discoveries.

Learn more about the South Pole Telescope.

Check out the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station webcam.

View a video photo collage from the South Pole Station.

“Condition 2″ weather occurs with wind speeds of 48-55 knots, wind chills of -75 to -100 degrees Fahrenheit  or visibility less than one-quarter mile.

The worst weather occurs during “Condition 1,” when there is one of more of the following: wind speeds greater than 55 knots, wind chills colder than -100 degrees Fahrenheit, or visibility of less than 100 feet. During “Condition 1″ weather, only “mission critical” travel is allowed, with approval needed from staff managers to venture out-of-doors.

Related Photos for Download

	Ann Posegate Arrives in Antarctica Download High Resolution Photo
	Dan Satterfield Arrives in Antarctica Download High Resolution Photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)
	Ivan the Terra Bus Download High Resolution Photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)
	The Welcome Wagon! (Emperor Penguins) Download High Resolution Photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)

Jan. 6, 2010, 3:00 p.m. (New Zealand time)

Boomerang: Return to the initial position from where it came.

I am currently in a U.S. Air National Guard C-17 “Pegasus” jet flying over the South Pacific from Christchurch, New Zealand – hub of the National Science Foundation’s U.S. Antarctic Program – to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. I have to laugh. Upon waking up at 5:00 a.m. this morning, I had a gut feeling that today was not the day I would be going to Antarctica. After a 24-hour delay on our flight from New Zealand to Antarctica yesterday morning, I ignored this morning’s intuition, hoped for the best and went through the motions with the expected excitement. And now, after five hours in the air, we just received word from the pilots that we will most likely boomerang – that is, turn around and fly back to Christchurch because conditions at McMurdo are too bad to land on an airstrip made of ice. However, as you can see in the photos below, we are lucky enough to fly over the Antarctic continent before doing a u-turn.

Jan. 6, 2010, 4:30 p.m

By this morning, the skies at McMurdo had cleared from a storm yesterday and visibility had improved. Forecast models suggested that the window would remain open through early afternoon, but hinted that conditions could again deteriorate.

In the off-chance that weather improved at McMurdo, the pilots waited until the last possible minute to decide whether or not to turn back. Four porthole windows and a visit to the cockpit allowed us unparalled views of landscapes of white sea ice and glaciers under the bluest of skies, until we came within 130 miles of McMurdo. We circled around McMurdo for one hour before the pilots received the report that the weather would not clear any time soon. The cloud ceiling was too low, visibility was too poor, and pilots would not have been able to distinguish the low cloud ceiling from the runway of ice about 2500 feet below.

Since November, the 2009-2010 austral (Southern Hemisphere) summer has had more boomerang flights and no-fly days than the past few years, all due to Antarctic weather. So, we are not the first to boomerang this season. One scientist aboard explained that he has been visiting the ice for 13 years and has never boomeranged until this season … this is his second boomerang flight since November.

Antarctic weather has a mind of its own, and can get tricky to forecast. Without internet or satellite data, Dan Satterfield, Chief Meteorologist at WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Ala., and I – both part of the Antarctic reporting team traveling this week – had fun trying to guess what was happening. Even though travel delays and long flights have resulted, the past two days’ weather-related changes to our itinerary have been rather exciting for weather folk. I wish I knew more about Southern Hemisphere and polar weather!

Even though I have spent a week in transit to this astounding continent and have now seen it with my own eyes, it seems that the atmosphere is not yet ready for our arrival. It is a difficult feeling to fly over the ice without landing. Still, I feel like one of the luckiest people in the world to view this amazing scenery from the air!

Our trip will go on, despite the delays. If there’s one thing you can’t blame, it’s the weather.

Jan. 6, 2010, 11:00 p.m.

After a 10-hour flight, we returned safely to Christchurch, but the stratus is still being blown in by easterly winds around McMurdo. We’re going to try again in several hours. Keep your fingers crossed that McMurdo clears by afternoon and we land safely on the ice …

Related Photos for Download: Ann’s Pictures from the Flight

	View of the Trans-Antarctic Mountains from the plane Download High Resolution Photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)
	View of southern Antarctic topography from the plane Download High Resolution Photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)
	Fragmented sea ice off the southwestern coast of Antarctica Download High Resolution Photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)
	Inside the C-17 military jet Download High Resolution Photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)
	Waiting patiently inside the C-17 military jet, donned in cold weather gear Download High Resolution Photo (Credit: Ann Posegate)

Seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Source: Sodemann, H and Stohl, A. “Asymmetries in the moisture origin of Antarctic precipitation.” Geophysical Research Letters 36 (2009): L22803.

Seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Wilson, DS and Luyendyk, BP. “West Antarctic paleotopography estimated at the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition.” Geophysical Research Letters 36 (2009): L16302 and Katz, ME et al. “Stepwise transition from the Eocene greenhouse to the Oligocene icehouse.” Nature Geoscience 1 (2008): 329-334.