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Ella Derbyshire (grannydoc)
South Pole Station,
Antarctica
Gigapans: 172
Snapshots: 699
Bookmarks: 5
Last Visited: November 09, 2009
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None
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I'm an Arctic traveler in the deepest South with my Nikon, a Canon and a gigapan robot.
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Nikon D80 |
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Canon G9 |
| For Robert the Robot |
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Robert the Robot |
| The gigapan robot |
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Here is South Pole's first passenger plane of the summer 2009-10. It is a Basler, which is a converted DC-3. The vanguard of the summer crew arrived on this sturdy little aircraft, along with some small cargo and some most-welcome fresh fruit and eggs.
We actually saw two earlier planes which stopped by for fuel on their way across Antarctica from Rothera to McMurdo. The layover for the Basler on that day was a short one. The Twin Otter, which followed about an hour behind, lingered awhile for some engine repairs, and so we had some unexpected late-winter guests.
This Basler however, brings replacements for the winter crew, and so marks the end of our winter 2009 at the South Pole. It took off, as acheduled, after a very brief stay in the ground.
If you look at other panoramas of the South Pole runway from this landing at Destination Alpha, you will see how the winds have changed the landscape this winter. We certainly have much larger drifts of snow than I found when I arrived in October 2008. There are also a lot of sustrugi which give you a clue about the direction of the prevailing wind. Walking in the dark this winter was sometimes a problem, as the sustrugi seemed to grow and shift position overnight. They may look soft and fluffy, but they do not provide a soft landing in a fall.
The heavy equipment operators will be busy this summer, as they have the task of paring down these drifts and moving the snow to the End of the World. By the end of summer, the drifts should be gone and the landscape by the station should be smooth and flat once again.
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Here is a view of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station as it appeared on March 1, 2009. I photographed this landscape as I was walking back from a weather balloon launch in the BIF.
March 1st was a very calm day with the sun still high enough above the horizon to give a pleasant warmth to the -50 degree Fahrenheit air. We were fast approaching sunset, and you will notice that the shadows are quite long. By the end of the month, the sun will be gone and we will not see it again until the equinox in September.
There is some haze in much of the image because the exhaust from the power plant sinks quickly when it hits the cold air, and then it stays close to the ground, making a bit of a fog around the station if the wind isn’t strong enough to carry it away. The wind that day was less than 5 knots and was blowing from grid east, as it commonly does, and so the exhaust was blowing slowly towards grid west. The wind at the South Pole blows so seldom towards grid east that the Clean Air Sector is located there.
From this angle, you can see the four wings of the station, all of which face grid south, which is the general direction of McMurdo and New Zealand. From left to right, the wings house the gymnasium, the emergency pod and the two main berthing areas. In the center of the image you can see the Dome, the stacks of the power plant, and the doors of the LO and VMF shop at the ends of the arches. The unfinished particle board siding of the BIF and the cryo lab stand out on the right side of the image.
Have a look around and see what you can find.
The 23 images of this panorama were photographed with a Nikon D80 and stitched with Autopano Pro.
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Here is the parking lot outside the McMurdo Vehicle Maintenance Facility. You will notice that McMurdo has quite a variety of large vehicles.
McMurdo is the largest of the American Antarctic Stations. It is a travel hub for scientists and support personnel who deploy to Antarctica from Christchurch, New Zealand, which is 850 miles north of here. McMurdo is also the primary resupply center for South Pole and for most Antarctic field research camps.
Vehicles such as these are needed to support research efforts in Antarctica. The overland traverse, which brings fuel and supplies across Antarctica to South Pole and to remote field camps, uses rugged tractors and trailers that require a good deal of TLC in Antarctica's cold climate. Large vehicles are a common sight when we offload cargo from ships and planes. They are used in construction projects and for maintaining the road system on Ross Island. Forklifts and trucks maneuver crates and boxes into storage and are used to load cargo onto LC-130's bound for the Pole. The fleet of large vehicles keeps the folks in the VMF busy with preventative maintenance and repairs.
Look around a bit, and you will see some of our vehicles, some evidence of scientific research in progress, and you will even see some art.
The 56 images of this panorama were photographed with a Nikon D80 and stitched with Autopano Pro.
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Here we see the helicopter pad at McMurdo Research Station on Ross Island, Antarctica.
Most of the times that I walked by this place the helicopters were out flying. This afternoon I was fortunate to find two helicopters on the ground, and so there are a couple of helicopters in the photograph. The helicopter on the left is newly returned from a trip to the Dry Valleys. The one on the right returned a few minutes ago from hauling supplies out onto the ice.
The colorful wagons on the left of the photograph stand out on this continent where white and blue dominate the landscape. This photograph was taken in the Spring, and you can see quite a bit of bare soil. McMurdo, which is on the Antarctic coast, has a lot of this exposed gravelly soil in summer. Most of Antarctica is covered by deep ice and snow. Folks at the Pole, where the ice is almost 2 miles thick, don't get to see very much dirt.
There is a nice group of Antarctic-style buildings on the ice over to the right of the image. Scientists use buildings like these during their research. Off in the distance you can see flag lines and more buildings on ice. As more scientists arrive from New Zealand, there will be a lot more vehicles, buildings and activity on the ice.
You may notice that helicopters are not the only vehicles in this image. You can also see some of the signage that is unique to McMurdo and Antarctica.
The 28 images of this panorama were photographed wiith a Nikon D80 and stitched with Autopano Pro.
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This panorama of McMurdo Station displays some early summer activities.
McMurdo is a staging point for research in the Dry Valleys and for marine research in the waters nearby. McMurdo is also the point through which most people and supplies pass on their way to the Pole.
Look around and see some of the equipment and storage containers that can be found here.
The 49 images of this panorama were photographed with a Nikon D80 and stitched with Autopano Pro.
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Here on the edge of Antarctica, 2 gigapan photographers met. One is in this panorama. The other is behind the camera.
My shooting style apparently gave me away.
Discovery Hut is an interesting structure that served as the winter home for Scott's Discovery Expedition in 1901. Several other expeditions used the hut during the next decade. Then, when the Golden Age of Antarctic exploration ended, Antarctica buried it in a tomb of snow where it was preserved, untouched for almost half a century.
With the construction of McMurdo Station in the mid-50's the hut was excavated, and some of the contents were carried off. Exposure to the sun and damage from melting snow have taken their toll on the building. Special efforts were needed to preserve the structure and its contents. And so now it is an historical landmark, with guided tours available upon request. On this sunny summer afternoon, the two gigapan photographers just happened to be on the same tour.
Well met sir.
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Here you see Discovery Hut, which is an Antarctic Historic Landmark. It is one of 3 expedition huts that were built by Antarctic Explorers in the Ross Sea area in early 20th Century.
Located on Hut Point Peninsula and separated from McMurdo Station by Winter Quarters Bay, Discovery Hut is a short walk from McMurdo Station. You can wander outside the hut whenever you wish, but to see the interior, you must arrange a tour with one of the guides on the station.
On this particular summer day, a group of folks who were on a pre-winter week of R&R from the South Pole were taking the same tour as a some guests from Europe. The hut itself was very interesting. Also interesting was the meeting between 2 gigapan photographers at this remote hut near the bottom of the world.
The images of this panorama were photographed with a Nikon D80 and stitched with Autopano Pro.
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Old dense icebergs that have broken off from the Antarctic ice sheets travel northward through the Southern Ocean, melting and breaking into smaller pieces as they encounter warmer water.
In this shallow bay in the South Orkney Islands, a considerable number of large, dense icebergs have come to rest in water that is still cold enough to maintain them for many years. Because of the big, resting bergs, this place is known as an "iceberg graveyard".
This iceberg is being slowly scupltured by waves as it sits serenely anchored in the bay. The dense ice that has very little air incorrporated within, glows intense blue in the dark blue-gray water.
The 6 images of this panorama were photographed with a Nikon D-80 and stitched with Autopano Pro.
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104
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BIF South Pole
Author: Ella Derbyshire (grannydoc)
Tags:
antarctica,
pole,
inflation,
south,
balloons,
weather,
meteorology,
ozone,
global,
warming
Size: 0.08 gigapixels
Added: April 25, 2009
Total Views: 2054
View in Google Earth 4.2+
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http://GigapanMagazine.org
vol 1 issue 2
Contributors: W. Lance Roth, Kristina Shiroma and Katy Jensen
Here is the interior of the Balloon Inflation Facility, (BIF) as we prepare to launch dual plastic balloons. We are using plastic today because the latex balloons break prematurely in the cold temperatures of an Antarctic winter. The plastic balloons are able to carry their payloads high enough to gather the data that we need.
The payloads are radiosondes that are carried by the balloons to altitudes of 10,000-11,000 meters above sea level. There they collect data such as humidity, temperature, pressure, wind direction and wind speed, and they send the information down to a radio receiver at the Pole. In the winter months, information from South Pole’s daily weather balloons is sent back to the United States to be used in forecasting weather worldwide.
In the summer, the meteorologists launch balloons twice daily to collect the same type of weather information to support the planes flying over Antarctica as well as provide information for worldwide weather forecasting. During the summer you would see round, white latex weather balloons flying above the South Pole.
There are two payloads today. In addition to the meteorologist’s radiosonde, the balloons will carry a separate sonde for the scientists from the South Pole’s Atmospheric Research Observatory (ARO). They send up their weekly balloons to measure ozone levels in the stratosphere. Their sondes collect and transmit data that will be used to study changes in the ozone hole which develops over the South Pole with the return of the sun each year. As September and sunrise approach, ARO will also be increasing the frequency of their balloon launches.
There are a few hints in this photograph that tell you that you are somewhere very cold. Have a look around and see what you can find.
The 24 images of this panorama were photographed with a Nikon D80 and stitched with Autopano Pro.
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The Alaskan village of Selawik is built on a wetland on the river near Selawik Lake. It is far removed from Kotzebue and the coast, and fuel for heating or generating electricity is very expensive here. Every gallon must be shipped in.
Here we see the windfarm that supplies some of Selawik's energy without the cost of burning fossil fuel. Wind is plentiful up here on the Arctic Circle, and these wind generators are usually moving, cranking out watts that came to town on the wind.
This panorama was photographed with a Nikon D80 and stitched with Autopano Pro.
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SPT
Created: November 1, 2009
Taken From: First Flight of Summer
Comments: none - add a comment
Total Views: 10
The South Pole 10 meter Telescope and MAPO have seen a bit of drifting this winter. The haze that you see has caused some delays in this summer's flights to Pole.
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Big Red
Created: September 12, 2009
Taken From: Exploring Near the South Pole
Comments: none - add a comment
Total Views: 34
This is the iconic red, bulky, insulated coat that is issued to most of the personnel who deploy to American Antarctic stations.
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