Week 30 at the Pole

Wednesday, August 10, 2016 - 2:15pm

ARO building at South Pole
Christian Krueger, IceCube/NSF

That’s not the IceCube Lab all frosted up in this photo but the ARO (Atmospheric Research Observatory) building, with its LIDAR beams shown shooting straight up into the sky.  LIDAR technology measures distances by directing laser lights at its targets.  We got a glimpse of these same beams from a different angle last year.  Last week at the Pole also saw some excitement in the ERT training arena, where everyone got “plastered” (slang in some areas to mean “put in a cast”).  A long weekend break for the contractors also gave some folks the idea of building an igloo—in the dark, under the red lights used outdoors in winter.

ERT training at South Pole station
Mack van Rossem, IceCube/NSF

Making an igloo in the dark at the South Pole
Christian Krueger, IceCube/NSF