2011-12 Aerial Photos--January/February 2012 continued

Now for a look at the science facilities, starting with NOAA's Atmospheric Research Observatory (ARO). Note the big drift, it is getting to be time to move/raise it.

Most of the rest of the remote science buildings are in the dark sector across the skiway. Here (looking southwest) are (clockwise from the top) the IceCube Laboratory (ICL), the Dark Sector Laboratory (DSL) with the attached South Pole Telescope (SPT) to the right and BICEP2 on the roof, and the Martin A. Pomerantz Observatory (MAPO) with the SPUD/KECK telescope on the wing to the left.

The SPT, which has been in the news of late for its examination of huge galaxy clusters.

In the foreground on the other end of the building is the BICEP2 telescope, currently in its last winter of operation It too has also been in the news.

The ICL...home of the massive computer complex which is monitoring all of those buried digital optical modules (DOMS) looking for neutrinos.

The other side of the building, which in another life was the Elevated Dorm.

MAPO...the building is a bit more buried than when it was dedicated in December 1994...before the extensions were added (they will make it difficult to raise the structure). the left extension houses the SPUD/KECK telescope which Robert Schwarz has been watching for the 2011 and 2012 winters. The instrument off of the right side of the building is the structure of the 2m Viper telescope (not an acronym), most recently operated as Arcminute Cosmology Bolometer Array Receiver (ACBAR) for the 2001 through 2005 winters.

Looking east at the entire station complex, with the dark sector science buildings in the foreground. The large disturbed patch of snow in the foreground is the last site of the IceCube drill camp, which was left there during the 2011 winter. Now all of the modules have been stored on the berm or retrograded.