South Pole Markers

Every year the team stationed in Antartica places a marker on the geographical south pole.

Apparently the sheet of ice that sits above the south pole moves every year so the markers stay up for a few years before they are stored away.

The ceremonial South Pole is surrounded by the flags of the Antarctic Treaty Nations. You can see the dome of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in the background.

Data from a GPS is used to mark the exact placement of 90 degrees south latitude. Each marker is about 12 feet long, but about two-thirds of it gets pounded into the ground. The markers are only left up for a few years before they are stored away in the South Pole Station.

http://attractions.uptake.com/blog/south-pole-markers-2317.html

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by boodaa.

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These days its run by the killjoys at Raytheon. Morale is plummeting.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4840139a11.html

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If you haven't seen it I would highly recommend checking out Werner Herzog's newish documentary "Encounters at the End of the World." It's about Antarctica, or really about the people that go live and work there at McMurdo Station, which is kind of a small city run by the National Science Foundation which is the hub for research in Antarctica. I'm a bit of a Herzog fan but I think most people will really like the film, there is some pretty crazy stuff in it (I especially like the tripped out seal sounds recorded under the ice).

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I admire the combination of adventure and dedication that most explorer-scientists seem to possess. It is a quietly heroic.

Nonetheless, when it is my turn to choose a marker, I'll erect a large bronze palm tree.