Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station


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Atmospheric Research Observatory - South Pole
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ARO Roof Top Sensors SUV-100,GUV,TUVR,GPS,PSP (left to right)
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SUV-100 Roof Top Box (shown from inside buidling)
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SUV-100 Roof Top Box, inside view
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SUV-100 Equipment Rack [Upper Half]
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SUV-100 Equipment Rack [Lower Half]

Communications Satellite Pass Schedule


Yearly South Pole Solar Zenith Angles Graph

Latitude:-90.0° S
Longitude:0.0° E
Elevation:2,835 Meters (9301 feet) ASL.
Date Installed:February 1988
Solar Season:September-March
Instrumentation:SUV-100, GUV-541, PSP, TUVR

The South Pole system is installed at the top of the Atmospheric Research Observatory (ARO, see photos) at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, located at the geographic South Pole. The South Pole is accessible by airplane between November and February only. The system operates in one of the harshest environments on Earth with average temperatures of -49°C.

South Pole is a very interesting place for UV measurements due to the annually recurring "ozone hole", stable meteorological conditions, frequent cloud-less days, constant high surface albedo, little aerosol influence, negligible air pollution, and virtually no diurnal change of Solar Zenith Angle. In addition, important parameters for interpreting the measurements, such as total column ozone and the atmospheric ozone profile, are available from measurements of NOAA/ESRL Global Monitoring Divistion installations at ARO.