South Pole Station

[malovich]

The station is raised because the snow never melts, it is actually designed such that as more snow builds up it can be raised higher up by adding extensions to the posts. Snow is a very good insulator and an under-snow station would be easier to keep warm. effectively a hollow pocket would form around any heated surfaces (walls) and would be approximately 32 degrees F. That's why Eskimos use igloos. The old station got buried under the snow so they are working on demolishing it for safety.

[33049156]

weird that usa won't allow us to make a memorial to the 100 year jubeleum of Rohald Amundsen(The Norwegian explorer who was the first man on the south pole) when they are allowed to build ugly research labs.. FTW!!

[stevesg92]

How cold was it there in this video?

[morace250]

Aaahhhh your standing upside down...

[joshlete]

How does one work there or how much does it cost to live there for a while?

[swamigal]

whaT is the meaning of USA flag sticked just behind the south pole exact point ?

[astrophilip]

where does your shit go?

[ToWi1989]

So what actualy goes on there?

[Lymos524254]

how can I get to work there?

[voiceguy100]

Why are the buildings raised? Perhaps to keep the snow from collecting around the perimeter of the building and trapping people inside?

[lowestsodium]

@voiceguy100 I think that's the theory. But in practice, I heard it's a pain in the butt. Someone still has to go outside and move the snow anyways.

[superjet2771]

@voiceguy100 The ground is very cold, bringing the buildings off the ground keeps them off the cold allowing more efficient heating.

[mehrshadvr4]

@voiceguy100 i think it's because it helps to keep the cold away from the building since the gound is covered with ice? it's very cool the pole is marked. it wonder how it feels to be at the very bottom of the earth.

[cpepe22]

lmao @ 1:48 " and now I need to stop bc my fingers are all frozen"

[bullyloser]

I LOVE THE SOTH POLE SO MUCH I WANTA  FLOOD THE WORST NOTRH POLE

[RebelAngel4321]

I'd feel a bit alone knowing I work at the motherfucking SOUTH POLE

[bullyloser]

tis is even beter tean tean tnp not going to tnp i 3> you tsp

[Doo0ne]

Was it chilly out? It was a white christmas at least lol.

[echoes1234567891]

Wow. Truly fascinated.

[Unkn0wnV13wer]

Belguim Flag.

[tutoriales3minutos]

There is not UP and DOWN in SPACE.

[lagswitcherupper]

hey @lowestodium. have you gone out exploring the continent. if so have you found any nazi military instillations or anyform of attempted life out there before the u.s station was put there. and also have you ever found evidence of previous civilizations out there?????/ please answer

[iratkan]

POOR ANIMALS, PEOPLE DESTROY THEIR ICE WITH ICE BREAKERS and nuclear trash

[YangSing1]

awesome i see british flag

[AshkirMC]

1:09 world's most isolated tree

[AshkirMC]

Theres probably a CRAP LOAD of Oil and diamond gold n stuff in antarctica!

[THEHUNGRYRUSSIAN]

0:59, the old classic Russian Flag :)

[Dracony345]

Super!

[Iceyyyyyage]

i see usa flag neer the real southpole marker,

u guys own the entir southpole? just a question.

Peace.

[1978atcarroll]

@Iceyyyyyage under the antarctic treaty, no nation can claim territory in antarctica. the United States operates the research station at the south pole, that's why the flag is there.

[JBhab30]

its funny cause you guys are actually upside down lol

[yoking456]

@JBhab30 they're only upside down relative to our location.

[JBhab30]

@JBhab30 Good Point.

[cipihevent]

@JBhab30 exactly not.

[Terrox92s]

@JBhab30 and actually they are not

[meteor4163]

It must be really exciting staying there!

At least until the sun sets :)

[fillosofert]

How disapointing it must be for adventurers to walk all across Antarctica on ski, only to find out there 100s of people on the pole already.

[italokid80]

Spending much money, don't need this station "scientific". Really, just another contribution to make global heating- how much oil burn for flying & living here?. Leave the pharaonic projects and come back home, people.

[ba3cool]

@italokid80 go back to your cave.

[gumdokim]

Amazing video, I don't understand why it doesn't have more views than this.

[RabosTroll]

Welcome to the isolation of extreme

[mickety2001]

What do they use to generate the power? Wind perhaps?

[lowestsodium]

@mickety2001 There's a few diesel generators that they use to power the station. I heard that there's usually not enough wind (or high enough wind) to consistently generate power. At our smaller sites, we use a wind turbine to power our instruments.

[michaelm0522]

So the pole with the globe isn't the real one?

[lowestsodium]

@michaelm0522 Yup...i's just ceremonial.

[DammitDrag]

It's so cold there your farts freeze in mid air.............

[lameristotel]

The south pole looks much friendly then North pole.

[TheFrozzoMan]

today there is a Icelandic flag there and the guys who puted it there are now in Argentina and going tol fly to the south pole!

[romancutzagiugiuc]

The romanian flag is there too :X:X

[MrPanetela]

Fantastic video. You all get earthquake over there?

[EmeraldJEM710]

This is completely awesome. I have been an EMT for 11 years and I'm wondering what the medical facilities are like. Would they be interested in an EMT as a medical tech for a possible 6 month stint? How would I even go about looking into this?

[Rahavin1]

I REALLY want to work there so bad.... but not a scientist (just an English teacher)! I read somewhere that there is other work to be done there. HOW DO I GET A JOB THERE!?

Basically, I like experience, and as a result, have worked in several countries. This is definitely a goal of mine.

[lowestsodium]

@Rahavin1 Goto USAP.gov, and look at the "Job and Opportunities" link. However, you might want to read up on what the job is like from various web sites first. Some people were really happy while working there. Some people were miserable.

[askjiir]

How warm is it inside? 20.C ?

[askjiir]

Damn.. They have a cafeteria at the end of the world. How about that...

Must feel lonely.

And this place also look like some human colonial settlement on a different planet. Kind of like the rebel base on Hoth in Star Wars. Colonizing the moon/mars? I think it might look like this.

[lowestsodium]

@askjiir I think NASA was looking at how people lived in the station, and how medical procedures can be done remotely, as a basis for the Mars programs.

[DdgeShelby]

what is the point of this station?

[lowestsodium]

@DdgeShelby There's a link on the NSF website that has a pretty accurate description of the science down there (Youtube won't let me post the actual link - but you should be able to find it if you google it).  One of our passive antennas is near the ARO building. You basically can't go anywhere without tripping on someone's magnetometer or telescope.

[Ura293]

Interesting that Antarctida had been discovered by Russians in 1821 only 3 days (!) before Brits followed them - that was one real regatta those years...interesting video...

[popshvt]

beautiful place

[ava818]

Wow.... pretty amazing videos you have here.

Just curious, how did you manage to get into the program? are you a scientist? or just a very lucky tourist? either way, this must have been a truly unbelievable trip. I'd love a chance to see it for myself some day, but i doubt i'll ever be that lucky

[lowestsodium]

@ava818 I was part of an engineering team that visited field sites farther out in the boonies, and passed through South Pole as a logistical and transportation hub. I doubt I would ever pay to go there (costs too much), but yes, I was very lucky to be able to travel to some of these places.

[arc1342]

can regular people come and work the...or people that do IT

[lowestsodium]

@arc1342 I guess you just have to apply/interview and see what's available.

[arc1342]

is there a hole in the south pole to the inside of the earth?

[lowestsodium]

@arc1342 Not that I know of. The ice is about 9000' thick at that point, so it's quite a dig if we wanted to find out.

[arc1342]

cuz my dad worked at nasa 4 a while...and once he showed me some pics that showed something that looked like holes in the north and the south pole

[thedsearch]

So what do you guys actually do down there?

[lowestsodium]

@thedsearch There are a lot of experiments going on, some astro-physics stuff, particle detectors, radio science receivers, telescopes, etc. I'm sure there is a more complete listing somewhere on USAP's page. I only had the opportunity to drop by from time to time (and this was a few years ago), sometimes passing through to other places for other projects, and other times to fix instruments that we have there.

[thedsearch]

@lowestsodium Thank you. I have a villa out on western Antarctica where me and the wifey spend the summers. Always interested in what the neighbors are up to.

[ResediVlad]

Population?

[lowestsodium]

@ResediVlad - Population varies. Goes up to about 250ish during the Antarctic summer, and down to maybe 50 during the winter.

[Studas2006]

I bet there aint a guitar here.

[lowestsodium]

@Studas2006 I think they have a room with musical instruments. They've got to keep people from going bat-crazy during the winters!

[KosukeKGA]

SANTA CLAUSE lS A LIE

[theworldunknown777]

what d fu.. we talk here about 50-year any no more industry in those areas like the last ... want to kill me? alarm

[belleisfat]

hey quick question, is there any way a welder can get a job down there

[lowestsodium]

You would have to check with the US Antarctic Program for job listing.

[halfmumi]

how about joiners from other countries? Only US citizens or anyone who has talented is accepted? =)

[iamaGod357]

how warm is it inside? isint it real drafty?

[Woody2093]

I'd like to work there, too. How did you get there? Would be cool to be there for a year after finishing school ;-)

[lowestsodium]

@Woody2093: I went as a grantee, which meant I went as part of a field engineering team for a few weeks to field sites. If you want to work there, look up the US Antarctic Program. There are job available for 13 month contracts, and 3-4 month contracts. But I don't know what the work situation is like anymore, now that next USAP contract is being handed out by the gov.

[Woody2093]

Thank You for your quick answer! Though i'm from germany, maybe there's also a german antarctic program^^ in germany you have to do your national service or something else. And it would be cool to be there for some months!

[TombaFanatic]

@Woody2093

it would definitely be cool in more than one way

[VotreCauchemar]

wow! I wanna work there! :D

[RileyRichardz]

Does it stay sunny/nightime for entire seasons down there?

[lowestsodium]

@RileyRichardz: Yes, it's daytime 24/7 from approx November through Feb. I was only there during Dec/Jan timeframe.

[numb1010]

@RileyRichardz

actually, since it's at the pole you should get half a year with sun and half a year without.. one sunrise and one sunset each year! :D

funny i've never thought of that before, growing up above the polar circle..

[lowestsodium]

It was probably around -30C. I can't remember...it was a few years ago.

[RileyRichardz]

Jesus I thought -20 was bad!

[x2malandy]

Is there a walmart close by?

[askjiir]

@x2malandy

No.

[Randomvideoman101]

people should live here.

[DT5236]

Very stylish, what is that use for!

[HuckleberrySlim]

given all the countries there, and its magnetic location. id keep in mind the possibility of electro-magnetic experiments to tear the fabric of spacetime. and of course spacetime tears allow for instantaneous travel between any two points, in space or time. or we could believe whatever the story they give us is. why only an outside tour? does the government always tell us everything? dont shoot the messenger. we dont know everything, this is worth questioning and exploring. its possible.

[HuckleberrySlim]

they didnt show us much, keep in mind. they didnt show us everything. the government always has something to hide. never wants to be seen doing what it does. all the superpowers combined!? must be something non-military/scientific, given the cooperation. ok...and what else would every government be interested in on the south pole? it would have to be magnetically related. id go with the spacetime tear mentality. i wouldnt put it past them, would u? u cant. looks quite like it, but we will see.

[SidneyXda]

ive always said there is something there that all the wealthy nations know about and want to guard? research? who knows.. i bet they know where the entrance is, they probably go in and out of the hollow earth opening.

[HuckleberrySlim]

@SidneyXda It would be fascinating to find out. Just the speculation is interesting.

[candr]

There for couple of months in the early 80's,, actually at McMurdo Base, but had to fly in to the pole for a week or two. Very interesting place. But I was glad to leave, don't like temps under -30 and that was the warm times. Told me if I wintered over it could hit -60 or -80, started looking for a plane north after that.

[davenrai]

i would love to go there

[54spiritedwill54]

wonderful place

[fabio1456]

2:39 must be relaxing to lay in that bed when its really stormy and extremely cold out and your in your nice warm toasty bed. makes me wanna fall asleep just typing this.

[johnnypocketrocket]

@fabio1456 Yes until you remember it's your turn to get the coal in.

[05Mosh05]

how cols is it

[durkadurka12hdghd]

What's the station for?

[KooKooCow]

reasearch

[saxquiz]

Why do they bother demolishing the old station? I mean it's a vast barren wasteland. There's plenty of room. Why not just leave it up? =/

[MeteoricDragon]

I believe that when they tear it down, they can salvage materials for reuse.

[NAVC130VET]

I was at the south pole in 92 with VXE-6 that is a awesome place.

[noisecape]

incredible place, I want to go there.

[Railer505]

judging by the height of the sun this must have been taken in December (or maybe late November or January)

[bachukhd]

Judging from the CHRISTMAS TREE, it must have been taken in December (or maybe late November or January).

Nice try though, trying to seem like Sherlock Holmes with the b.s. deductive reasoning. You might have fooled some 6 year-olds.

[SpursYid74]

LOL

[madmoses59]

I've wanted to visit there, but don't think it will happen in my life time

[zapp3rr]

me 2

[zapp3rr]

you live in antartica? :)

[lowestsodium]

I only get to visit once in a while

[zapp3rr]

You visit south pole like tourist ?

[lowestsodium]

I am part of a engineering team that visit some remote sites in Antarctica every year to do maintenance on autonomous science instruments. We pass through SP station to get to our sites. I heard I'd have to pay an arm and a leg to fly to SP for a few moments (~$30K USD is what I've heard), and not even be allowed inside the station.

[zapp3rr]

Oh... Can regular man like tourist come there? I wish my whole life to come on south pole :)

[zapp3rr]

wonderful place

[pauldean78]

It's a great insight you provide, you guys who go to the trouble of doing these personal videos of life in Antarctica. The sum total of them beats any professional documentary trying to do the same thing! Keep up the good work.

[hmt5oo]

thank you

[xixin33]

amazing place

[gamewizard84]

Thanks for giving me a look at what life is like at the south poll.