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Media Advisory

 


NSF PA/M 99-03 - January 13, 1999

South Pole Workers Get Rare View of Two Dozen Atmospheric Haloes

Photo of haloes at ceremonial pole marker
Photo: Lisa Beal

 Photo of woman and atmospheric haloes
Photo: Lisa Beal

Photo of ceremonial South Pole, flags and atmospheric haloes
Photo: Lisa Beal

Photo of atmospheric haloes
Photo: Sue Bowman

Photo of haloes reflected on ceremonial South Pole marker
Photo: Chris Rock

Larger versions (Total Size: 80KB) of all images from this document

 Note About Images

 

Workers at the National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station gathered around the chrome-topped "barber pole," a symbolic marker at the South Pole, on Jan. 11 to witness and photograph a very unusual display of atmospheric haloes, caused by the reflection and refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere.

For roughly 30 minutes, beginning at 2 p.m. local time, construction workers helping to rebuild the station joined researchers and other station personnel to observe and photograph at least 24 haloes, or arcs that appeared.

Marko Pekkola, an expert on ice crystals stationed at the Pole, said that if all of the sighting claims are verified by photographic evidence, the phenomenon could set a new world record for the number of haloes visible from a particular spot.

Two of the three existing record halo displays were also sighted and photographed at Amundsen-Scott station, in 1986 and 1990.

In addition to NSF support personnel, scientists and contractors, the phenomenon was documented by a visiting CBS News camera crew. Also taking photographs was Sue Bowman, a high school teacher from Lebanon, Pa., who is at the South Pole as part NSF's Teachers Experiencing the Arctic/Antarctic (TEA) program. Through TEA, elementary and secondary school teachers participate in field research with NSF-funded scientists, and then share what they have learned with students and other teachers.

Notice to photo editors: Photographs of the phenomenon may be found on the NSF Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/media/ma993.htm.

 

 
 
     
 

 
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