South Pole

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Lore & Background

The South Pole is defined as the southern point of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. However, Earth's axis of rotation is actually subject to very small 'wobbles' (polar motion), so this definition is not adequate for very precise work. The geographic coordinates are usually given simply as 90°S, since its longitude is geometrically undefined. At the Pole, all directions face north; along tight latitude circles, clockwise is east, and counterclockwise is west, opposite to the North Pole. The Geographic South Pole sits atop a featureless, barren, windswept and icy plateau at an altitude of 2,835 m (9,301 ft) above sea level, located about 1,300 km (810 mi) from the nearest open sea at the Bay of Whales. The ice is estimated to be about 2,700 m (8,900 ft) thick at the Pole, so the land surface under the ice sheet is actually near sea level. The polar ice sheet is moving at a rate of roughly 10 m (33 ft) per year in a direction between 37° and 40° west of grid north, down towards the Weddell Sea. The Geographic South Pole is marked by a stake in the ice alongside a small sign; these are repositioned each year in a ceremony on New Year's Day to compensate for the movement of the ice. The sign records the respective dates that Roald Amundsen and Robert F. Scott reached the Pole, followed by a short quotation from each man, and gives the elevation as '9,301 FT.'. A new marker stake is designed and fabricated each year by staff at the site. The Ceremonial South Pole is an area set aside for photo opportunities at the South Pole Station, located some meters from the Geographic South Pole, and consists of a metallic sphere on a short barber pole, surrounded by the flags of the original Antarctic Treaty signatory states.

Reader's Guide

The South Pole's significance lies in its role as a symbol of human exploration and a site for continuous scientific research. The first men to reach the Geographic South Pole were the Norwegian Roald Amundsen and his party on 14 December 1911. Amundsen named his camp Polheim and the entire plateau surrounding the Pole King Haakon VII Vidde in honour of King Haakon VII of Norway. Robert Falcon Scott and four other men reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, thirty-four days after Amundsen. On the return trip, Scott and his four companions all died of starvation and extreme cold. It was not until 31 October 1956 that humans once again set foot at the South Pole, when a party led by Admiral George J. Dufek of the US Navy landed there in an R4D-5L Skytrain aircraft. The US Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station was established by air over 1956–1957 for the International Geophysical Year and has been continuously staffed since then by research and support personnel. After Amundsen and Scott, the next people to reach the South Pole overland, albeit with air support, were Edmund Hillary (4 January 1958) and Vivian Fuchs (19 January 1958) and their respective parties, during the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The first group of women to reach the pole were Pam Young, Jean Pearson, Lois Jones, Eileen McSaveney, Kay Lindsay, and Terry Tickhill in 1969. In 1978–1979, Michele Eileen Raney became the first woman to winter at the South Pole. Subsequent to the establishment, in 1987, of the logistic support base at Patriot Hills Base Camp, the South Pole became more accessible to non-government expeditions. Historic monuments include Amundsen's Tent, erected by the Norwegian expedition on its arrival on 14 December 1911, now buried beneath the snow and ice in the vicinity of the Pole, and a flagpole erected at the South Geographical Pole in December 1965 by the First Argentine Overland Polar Expedition.

Did You Know?

• At the South Pole, all directions point North and all lines of longitude converge, so its longitude can be defined as any degree value.
• No time zone has been assigned to the South Pole, so any time can be used as the local time.
• The polar ice sheet at the South Pole is moving at a rate of roughly 10 m (33 ft) per year toward the Weddell Sea.
• The geographic marker at the South Pole is repositioned each year in a ceremony on New Year's Day.
• The first men to reach the Geographic South Pole were Roald Amundsen and his party on 14 December 1911.