Week 47 at the Pole

Tuesday, December 9, 2014 - 11:45am
skiing
Image: E. Beiser, IceCube/NSF

IceCube’s new winterovers had plenty of practice working the detector while troubleshooting issues that arose early in the week during some runs. But things were pretty much wrapped up by the week’s end, in time for a nice Thanksgiving dinner. And just in time for that dinner, the South Pole traverse arrived, bringing fuel that would otherwise have had to come by plane. The fuel is stored in enormous bladders that rest on sheets of UHWM plastic, an especially tough material. While the traverse was there, the operators held an open house of their equipment—IceCube winterover Stefan skied out to check it out (in top photo). You can find more photos and background on the traverse here.

feast
Image: E. Beiser, IceCube/NSF

feast
Image: E. Beiser, IceCube/NSF

outside
Image: E. Beiser, IceCube/NSF

tractors
Image: E. Beiser, IceCube/NSF