South Pole

The South Pole is the southernmost point on the Earth.

Geographic South Pole

The Geographic South Pole is the one of two points where the earth's axis of rotation intersects the surface (the other being the Geographic North Pole). This is the point usually meant when an unspecified "south pole" is mentioned.

The first humans to reach the Geographic South Pole were Norwegian Roald Amundsen and his party on December 14, 1911. Amundsen named his camp Polheim and the entire plateau surrounding the Pole Haakon VII's Vidde in honour of King Haakon VII of Norway. Amundsen's main competitor Robert Falcon Scott reached the Pole a month later. On the return trip Scott and his four companions all died of hunger and extreme cold. There have been many expeditions to arrive at the South Pole by surface transportation. The leaders of some of the first of these are, in order: Amundsen, Scott, Hillary, Fuchs, Havola, Crary, Fiennes. US Admiral Richard Byrd, with the assistance of his first pilot Bernt Balchen, became the first person to fly over the South Pole on November 29, 1929.

The fastest unsupported walking journey to the Geographic South Pole from the ocean is 47 days and was set in 1999 by explorers Tim Jarvis and Peter Treseder, who manhauled 200 kg sleds containing food and cooking fuel.

At present, Antarctica is located over the South Pole, although this has not been the case for all of Earth's history because of continental drift. The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was established during the International Geophysical Year in 1958 and is permanently staffed by research and support personnel.

The projection of the south geographic pole onto the celestial sphere gives the south celestial pole.

The land at the South Pole is located near sea level. However, the ice cap is 3000 metres thick and consequently the Amundsen-Scott Base is a high altitude location.

Ceremonial South Pole

The Ceremonial South Pole is an area set aside for photo opportunities at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. It consists of a metallic sphere on a plinth, surrounded by the flags of the Antarctic Treaty signatories. It is located a few metres from the Geographic South Pole (see above), which is marked only by a small sign, and a stake. Because the ice cap is moving at approximately 10 meters per year, the stake is replaced every year on New Year’s Day.

The dome seen in the pictures is partially buried due to snow storms. The entrance to the dome has to be regularly bulldozed to uncover it. More recent buildings are now built on stilts so that the snow does not build up against the side of them.

South Geomagnetic Pole

The geomagnetic field can be approximated by a tilted dipole placed at the center of the Earth. The South Geomagnetic Pole is the point where the axis of the best-fitting tilted dipole intersects the Earth's surface in the southern hemisphere. Moreover, the pole is wandering due to the fact that the field is constantly changing.

South Magnetic Pole

The South Magnetic Pole is the point on the Earth's surface where the geomagnetic field lines are directed vertically upwards. Because the field is not fully dipolar, the South Magnetic Pole does not coincide with the South Geomagnetic Pole. Furthermore, the South Magnetic Pole is wandering due to the same reason its geomagnetic counterpart wanders.

On January 16, 1909 three men (Douglas Mawson, Edgeworth David, and Alistair Mackay) from an expedition led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, found the South Magnetic Pole ^*.

The Southern Pole of Inaccessibility

It is located at on the surface of the Antarctic continent and is the most distant point from the Southern Ocean. It was reached on December 14, 1958 by the 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition, led by Yevgeny Tolstikov. At that point they established a temporary station Polyus Nedostupnosti. On the road to the Pole, at another station, Sovetskaya, was established by the expedition, which existed between February 16, 1958 and January 3, 1959.

References

External links

South Pole Station info on 70South
South Pole Webcam
Virtual tour of the South Pole
South Pole Photo Gallery
Current weather conditions at the South Pole (Amundsen-Scott Station)
"A south pole adventure" - blog of a scientist at the station
Poles by the Australian Antarctic Division

Geography of Antarctica | Antarctica | Poles

Gourt Home::Gourt :: South Pole