Tuesday, January 2, 2001

I finished packing this morning, dropped off my bags and walked to the dome. The sky was blue, the sun bright, it was a beautiful summer day. Temperature in the high -20 's. As I walked to the dome, I felt both sad to leave this place and happy to return home.

Most people think that they would freeze to death at the pole. Fortunately, the National Science Foundation provides us with very warm clothing. In fact, I only used half of the ones supplied. In the picture below, you can see what all polar explorers wear. These clothes might not make the front page of Vogue, but they do keep us warm. On the left is Xinhua Bai, a scientist from China who is working at Bartol in Delaware. He is wearing regulation blue boots, with black windpants. On the right is Karl-Heinz Sulanke, an engineer from Germany. He is wearing "carhartt's". Those tan colored overalls are very warm. With a pair of long underwear underneath, walking outside is very warm. There is even a matching jacket. Most of the workmen prefer to wear the carhartt jacket, as it is less bulky than the red polar parka.

In the picture below, you can see Bai dressed up in the red parka. He is waiting for the tank of water to freeze. This parka has everything. Pockets to carry gloves, hats and even pens. There are even pockets to warm our hands. The parka weighs nearly ten pounds, but it keeps us so warm.

So far the tank has been 15 days and it is still not frozen. He needs to apply a little heat, as he does not want to trap bubbles and does not want the tank to burst. Still, the tank, which is just below the surface of the snow, is taking a long time to solidify. If you look closely in the picture you can see an AMANDA optical module. The purpose of this tank is to detect muons from the atmosphere. The Amanda optical module is a sphere made by Benthos with a phototube inside. You can see the black wires from the phototube leaving the sphere. After the water in the tank freezes, it will be buried in snow. If this device works, then an array of these muon detectors will be built.

I have talked a lot about the dome, but have not have taken you inside. In this picture, you see several of the buildings. On the left is a place where "winterovers' stay. The lower level is a computer building. On the right is where we have a store, a history room with pool table, movie lounge and some offices. Directly in front is where the food is stored. The dome is unheated. It is one of the world's largest freezers. Even though it is about the same temperature as outside, most people wear light clothes when walking between buildings. You can see two of the residents strolling comfortably in the cold.

This entry should be my last from the pole. I will be leaving in two hours - by plane.

Howard Matis
South Pole, Antarctica

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