10:00 AM - IceCube Array, Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica - IceCube Neutrino Observatory

When: March 10th @ 10:00 AM (March 11th @ 5:00 AM at the South Pole)

Where: IceCube Array, Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica - IceCube Neutrino Observatory

Who: IceCube Neutrino Observatory

The second to last stop on our world tour is Antarctica. We were able to talk to 4 different scientists about some of the science that happens down there. They showed us a presentation entailing the details of the IceCube experiment. Their base is in the middle of Antarctica, right at the South Pole. McMurdo is a base located on the coast of Antarctica and is the first stop on the scientists' way to the South Pole. When the scientists make it to their station in the South Pole, there is a library, greenhouse, gym, music room, and anything else that they would need to live at the base for a year inside. In between the months February and October, the scientists are isolated because it is too cold for the planes to fly. They have put 5,484 IceCube detectors into the ice, with some going so far down they almost reach bedrock. In the summer, the snow is mild enough for the scientists to go outside and make repairs to their outside instruments. Some of the station duties include refueling transportations, gathering weather data, and releasing weather forecasts. One of our guests showed us the tool that they use to make sure that they always know where the South Pole is located. While the base will occasionally get earthquakes they don't get any other natural disasters, just exuberant amounts of snow. The snow and ice though comes from the wind carrying it inward from the coast. The scientists told us that the hardest part about living at the base is acclimating to the climate. The weather is very cold, windy, and dry.