Greeting 6 Months of South Pole Darkness With Sumptuous Feast
It is dusk. The sun has set. Each day is slightly darker than the one that preceded it, but it is still too light to see stars or aurora. Most days have been overcast, with dark clouds climbing from the horizon to the sky. SOUTH POLE JOURNALRefael Klein blogs about his year working and living at […]
South Pole Diaries: Bracing for Sun to Set for 6 Long Months
SOUTH POLE JOURNALRefael Klein blogs about his year working and living at the South Pole. Read his earlier posts here. It is the solstice. The sun is half set. For the moment, it is perfectly bisected by the horizon. It is the same sun seen in Hawaii travel brochures and Kinkade paintings. It is the same sun that […]
Isolated and Alone, South Pole Workers Face Unexpected Emergencies
From horizon to horizon, in every direction, blue-grey skies descend into a flat, grey, monochromatic landscape that is only disrupted by strong winds and cloud cover. SOUTH POLE JOURNALRefael Klein blogs about his year working and living at the South Pole. Read his earlier posts here. The sun circles at nearly the same height each day, its zenith […]
South Polies Tackle Last-Minute Preps to Survive Brutal Winter
The last plane left two weeks ago and everyone is settling into their wintertime roles. SOUTH POLE JOURNALRefael Klein blogs about his year working and living at the South Pole. Read his earlier posts here. Station population sits at 50 and most departments are only a fraction of the size they once were. Although the summer crew left […]
South Pole Summer Camp Helps Combat Winter Blues
Construction on the Amundson-Scott elevated station began in 1998 and was completed in 2008. SOUTH POLE JOURNALRefael Klein blogs about his year working and living at the South Pole. Read his earlier posts here. During the height of construction, the summer population at the South Pole ballooned to over 250 people. To accommodate the overflow in personnel, plastic, […]
Stranded Until Spring: Last Flight Leaves South Pole Before Winter Hits
It’s the season of long shadows. The ice cap is a maze of dark and light. The smallest protrusions of snow create as much shade as a beach umbrella at high noon. As I walk to work, I’m accompanied by a 20-foot projection of myself. It marches silently through a windswept landscape, numb to the […]
South Pole Diary: In Giant Parkas, Rank Is Less Apparent
Supporting world-class, meaningful scientific research in a unique landscape makes working at the Atmospheric Research Observatory (ARO) one of the most enjoyable positions I’ve held in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps. SOUTH POLE JOURNALRefael Klein blogs about his year working and living at the South Pole. You can read his earlier posts here. The data collected by […]
Taking a Hike on a ‘Balmy’ Day in Antarctica
McMurdo Station sits on the farthest reach of the Hut Point Peninsula on the southern side of Ross Island. It is located 850 miles from the South Pole, sits more or less at sea level, and has abundant wildlife — at least during the summer months. SOUTH POLE JOURNAL Refael Klein blogs about his year […]
South Pole Diary: When Winter Comes, There’s No Escape
SOUTH POLE JOURNAL Refael Klein blogs about his year working and living at the South Pole. Read his earlier posts here. In three weeks, Amundson-Scott station will close to flight operations. There will be no more planes in or out and, for those who have chosen to winter over, the South Pole will be their […]
Runners Attempt 26-mile South Pole Marathon in Sub-Zero Temperatures
It’s Christmas day 2010. Fifty runners gather at the geographic South Pole to participate in the Race Around the World, a 2.2 mile (3.5 kilometer) “fun run”. The event is largely a casual affair. Many participants are in holiday-themed costumes and a few are riding in sleds pulled by snowmobiles. No one cares about how […]