Week 2 at the Pole

Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - 10:00am

Two small aircraft, one with long curved contrails,  in blue sky
Yuya Makino, IceCube/NSF

Although summer is coming to an end, it’s not over yet.  Planes are still flying to and from the Pole. The image above shows two small aircraft—twin otters—in the air.  IceCube even had a new team member arrive last week, albeit the last one of the season.  Out on the ice, clear skies made for nice working conditions to keep summer activities progressing on target.  The drill team had the hose spool out (below) and were making sure things were in working order.  And there was significant amount of snow shoveling as well as some trench digging for a radio antenna deployment.  The whale sighting at the bottom?  Definitely not from the Pole, but a highlight nonetheless—it’s from winterover John’s R&R trip to McMurdo, which he had just returned from last week, showing an animal that didn’t get featured in the previous week’s report.

Person standing next to large hose reel
Yuya Makino, IceCube/NSF

A few people in red parkas out on the ice
Yuya Makino, IceCube/NSF

Two people, apart and facing away from each other, standing in and digging a deep trench in snow
Yuya Makino, IceCube/NSF

Dorsal fin of whale above water's surface
John Hardin, IceCube/NSF