South Pole Traverse

Freight transport on the South Pole Traverse  (early 2006)

The South Pole Traverse ( English , "South Pole Traverse"), also McMurdo - South Pole Highway ("McMurdo South Pole Highway"), is an approximately 1600 kilometer long road in Antarctica , which the American stations McMurdo on the coast and connects the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station at the South Pole . It was built from leveled snow and over filled crevasses . The road is naturally not paved, but it is marked with flags. Today, tracked vehicles can drive to the South Pole, which takes about ten days.

Construction began in early 2002. It was completed in the southern summer of 2006/07.

The Ross Ice Shelf and the polar plateau over which the road runs are relatively stable. At the Leverett Glacier , the South Pole Traverse leaves the ice shelf near its southernmost point and goes up through the Watson Escarpment to the polar plateau . Most of the crevasses break up in this short and steep stretch of road, where the road rises to over 2000 meters above sea level; this section has to be maintained every season.

The project was financed by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) in order to make the supply of the South Pole station cheaper and ultimately more reliable. Bad weather at McMurdo Sound in several summers reduced the number of supply flights the NSF could undertake to bring in building materials and scientific equipment.

The road also improves the use of the heavy equipment needed to carry out the proposed South Pole Connectivity Program , a proposed fiber optic link between the South Pole and the French-Italian Dome Concordia station on the edge of the Antarctic Plateau that will provide 24-hour access to Has geostationary satellite . These satellites cannot be used at the poles because they are below the horizon; At the moment, other satellites are used at the South Pole that are at the end of their lifespan. Alternatively, the NSF could also decide to purchase new satellites.

On February 7, 2006, the NSF announced in a press release that 110 tons of cargo had been delivered over the trunk road to the South Pole Station as proof of success. In 2013 Maria Leijerstam rode a bicycle (recumbent trike or trike) on the South Pole Traverse to the South Pole.

A similar tractor transport is carried out once a year between the Russian main station Mirny and the Vostok station 1400 km deep inland , but on an unpaved snow slope. The Kharkovchanka was specially developed for these transports .

cards

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  Course of the South Pole Traverse

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  Topographic map sheet Leverett Glacier 1: 250,000. The South Pole Traverse leaves the Ross Ice Shelf in a steep climb over the Leverett Glacier.

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  Start of the South Pole Traverse in McMurdo Station (Central Street)

Web links

• Stephen Moss: No, not a ski resort - it's the south pole. In: Guardian. January 24, 2003, accessed March 14, 2011 . 
• Pole Re-supply Traverse Articles.pdf # page = 14 More ice roads on the Antarctic continent

Individual evidence

1. ^ Bob Maxwell: The controversy around the proposal and formation of the South Pole Traverse, University of Canterbury, 2011 , pp. 2-3
2. ^ Icy Overland Trip May Add Ground Vehicles to South Pole Supply Missions (Press Release 06-024) . National Science Foundation. February 7, 2006. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
3. ^ Andreas Sanders: Antarctica: Trek of the daring. In: GEO-Magazin , 01/2004
4. ↑ Antarctic ATVs: USA vs. USSR. Retrieved December 6, 2018 .