New South Pole Station Sits Atop Drifting Snow

While some call it an engineering marvel, Antarctic researchers may call the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station a warmer, safer place to work than they’ve known before. On January 15, 2008, the National Science Foundation dedicated the new South Pole station, which replaces the domed structure that served as the U.S. scientific outpost since the 1970s.

Courtesy: National Science Foundation

The station is an imposing elevated structure that will support sophisticated large-scale experiments. A video of its construction, over 12 years in extreme conditions, and its mission also explains how the structure will adjust to the high winds and drifting snow at the South Pole. It required 925 flights by ski-equipped LC-130 aircraft flown by the N.Y. Air National Guard. At 26,000 pounds of cargo per flight, a total of 24 million pounds of cargo were transported.

The station is named for Roald Amundsen, the first explorer to reach the South Pole, and Robert Scott, who reached the pole a month later.