Virtual Tour - Dome: Communications, Library, and Post Office.

Communications

There are email communications, sideband (voice) radio to McMurdo, occasional HAM connections, occasional telephone calls (on Sundays and Mondays, when official business is complete, before the satellite wobbles out of view again). Hand-held radios are available for loan. The personnel who work here are also air traffic controllers for the region, but air traffic control is done from another building.

Communications at the South Pole are staffed 24 hours/day, and almost all they do in the summer is coordinate flights from McMurdo.

Jim Sweitzer uses the ham radio shack at the Pole, station KC4AAA.
This is the voice communications control center, which is limited to Antarctica (computer communications to the rest of the world are elsewhere). Reportedly, shortwave transmissions here sound like "you're talking underwater" and they probably "take some getting used to."

Library

The library also serves as a trophy room and a place to play pool.
In this picture, the books are behind you.

Post Office

Incoming mail is sorted and distributed as soon as it arrives. Outgoing mail is left in the mail bag hanging outside the station store.

CARA's research and education programs are supported in part by the National Science Foundation under a cooperative agreement, grant number NSF OPP 89-20223. © Copyright 1998,1999,2000 by Center for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica. This copyright applies to all web pages and images created by CARA.