Mike's South Pole Photos

Introduction

I worked at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station as a researcher during five consecutive summer seasons.

Most of my South Pole photos were destroyed by a hard drive failure (extreme cold) in 2004 and a fire (extreme heat) in 2019. Only two remain.

Geographic South Pole 💈

This first photo was taken in January 2000, during my first summer at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica. The station is a U.S. research facility, established in 1956, and operated by the United States Antarctic Program, funded by the National Science Foundation. It sits atop the Antarctic ice sheet at an elevation of approximately 9,301 feet (2,835 meters) above sea level.

The station is named after explorers Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott, who led the first two expeditions to reach the South Pole. Amundsen reached the pole first on December 14, 1911. Scott arrived on January 17, 1912, but unfortunately perished on the return trip.

In the photo, I am posing at the marker for the Geographic South Pole. The actual marker is on a short post in front of me, too short to be seen in this photo. It is repositioned each year on New Year's Day to account for the ice sheet's movement (about 10 meters per year toward the Weddell Sea). A series of the previous years' markers are visible behind me.

My research was in cosmology, on a project called ACBAR, the Arcminute Cosmology Bolometer Array Receiver. ACBAR was a multifrequency millimeter-wave receiver on the Viper telescope at the South Pole. It measured CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) anisotropies with arcminute-scale resolution and provided key data for understanding the universe's structure and evolution.

Naked 🤪

This second photo was taken the next year in January 2001 at the Ceremonial South Pole. The Ceremonial South Pole is a tourist attraction located a few tens of meters from the true Pole. It features a red-and-white striped “barber pole” topped with a reflective chrome sphere, surrounded by the flags of the twelve original Antarctic Treaty signatory nations. (Only five are visible in this photo.)

In the background, the geodesic dome is visible. This dome housed the main part of the South Pole Station from 1975 until 2003, when it was replaced by a new elevated station.

Yes, I am naked in this photo, except for my socks, shoes, and sunglasses. The sphere is cleverly positioned in the photo to obscure my fun bits. The temperature at the South Pole that day was approximately −20°F (−30°C), one of the warmest days of the year. Nudity is a lighthearted tradition to demonstrate toughness and a sense of humor. (Search the web for "300 Club" for the more extreme tradition.)

For some reason, this photo appeared in several publications, including California Magazine (from the Cal Alumni Association), Berkeley Science Review, and the National Geographic website (but not the magazine).

Antarctica Service Medal 🎖

I was awarded the Antarctica Service Medal for my five summer seasons at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station from 1999 to 2004.

The Antarctica Service Medal (ASM) is a U.S. military award established by Congress on July 7, 1960, under Public Law 86-600, to recognize service in Antarctica. It is one of the few DoD awards authorized for civilians, typically through the National Science Foundation, reflecting the collaborative nature of Antarctic missions.

The bronze medal, 1¼ inches in diameter, features a polar landscape with a figure in Antarctic clothing on the obverse, flanked by the words ANTARCTICA and SERVICE. The reverse shows a polar projection of Antarctica with the words COURAGE, SACRIFICE, and DEVOTION, surrounded by penguins and marine life. The ribbon has a blue spectrum with a white center stripe and black edges. The figure's uniform is modeled after Admiral George J. Dufek's, who led the first permanent South Pole station in 1956, symbolizing readiness and determination.