The 2018 Pole Marker

Pole marker unveiled 1 January 2018
The marker unveiled 1 January 2018...another totally new idea...and probably the heaviest marker yet (MK).

the 2018 marker from another angle
Here's a view from another angle (CH).

Each winter, the winterovers are invited to submit designs for the new marker to be unveiled the following New Years Day. The various designs are voted upon by the group. The selected marker design was a collaboration between 3 people--IceCube winterover Martin Wolf, BICEP3 winterover Grant Hall, and machinist Matt Krahn who actually fabricated it. The background engraving of the Southern Cross with the aurora australis was originally drawn by Martin as a design for a Schwibbogen (a decorative candle holder type originating from the Saxony region of Germany). The quotation "by endurance we conquer" is a translation of the Latin "Fortitudine vincimus" which was the Shackleton family motto--it was Matt Krahn's idea to use this quotation.

the marker CAD file
Above, Grant Hall's CAD drawing of the marker (GH).
the marker on view briefly during the 2017 winter
The marker as displayed briefly by the 2017 winterovers before being stashed away until 1 January 2018 (GH).
Matt, Grant, and Martin with the marker
The creators with the marker. From left, Matt Krahn, Grant Hall, Martin Wolf (MW).
the marker on view briefly during the 2017 winter
Another view of the marker displayed outside for the 2017 winterovers (MW).

The basic design was conceived at 2200 the evening before the deadline, and completed during an all-nighter. It is essentially a solid steel sphere with one quarter of it cut out. The original plan was for it to be fabricated from just four pieces...the final product was assembled from eight parts which included steel, brass, and copper. Because of the extensive engraving, the faces had to be fabricated as two separate parts. The ring around the diameter was added to cover the seam between the two parts.

Additionally, the names of all of the winterovers are engraved on the holder.

Views of the 1 January unveiling ceremony:

passing the flag and new marker from the old site to the new site
First, the flag and still-covered new marker are passed from the site of the 2017 marker to the new location (CH).
passing the flag
Like so (CH)...
the new marker location
The end of the line. In the center, reaching for the flag, is (presumably) area manager Bill Coughran. At right, next to the relocated South Pole sign, is winter site manager Marco Tortonese (BB).
unveiling the new marker
And here Marco is about to reveal the marker. Before he would do so, he spoke briefly about all that the new marker would witness in the upcoming year (RB).
crowds around the marker


Here is another photo showing folks grouped around the marker (DP).

the LO arch vents close to the marker
Another perspective from a few days later, as the Twin Otter on the Jeff Warneck aerial photo mission is in the background. From the other side of the 2-sided sign looking northeast, we can see the two 5-foot-square air intake vents on the upwind end of the LO arch (JW).

The above right photo is a graphic reminder of the ice movement. When the domed station was first laid out in 1970...the dome was positioned so that the geographic Pole would be located at the center of the dome in 2020. That was based on the then-current ice movement projection. By the 1980's it became obvious that the Pole would end up somewhere northeast of the Skylab location. Where it will be in 2-3 years.

Credits and thanks: MK is Martin Keefe; CH is UT Chris Hawkins; GH is Grantland Hall; MW is Martin Wolf; RB is Raffaela Busse (from her IceCube news reports), BB is Brad Benson, and JW is Jeff Warneck. And thanks to Martin and Grant for sharing information about the marker design and creation.