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TREC Virtual Base Camp _ Ask the Teacher (Dena) or the Scientist Team _ question

Posted by: Kalyn Williams Nov 28 2005, 10:33 PM

This is a question about the North and South Poles. I was told that a pole is placed directly in the middle of the North and South Pole and over time the poles will slide over out of place, so people will put a new pole in place of the old one. But instead of just placing a new pole there, and having huge line of poles, why don't they just take the old one out a put it in the same spot? I hope I made that clear enough, it was a little hard to put into words.

Thanks.

Posted by: Dena_Rosenberger Nov 30 2005, 05:46 AM

Hi Kayln:

Great question and good thinking!

Actually, at the North Pole, because it is just floating, shifting ice sheets with no land, there is no permenent pole placed. Anything put there just floats away on ice or falls into the Arctic Ocean.

At the South Pole where there is a continent, they DO put a pole and every year it moves away from the actual place as the glacier that it rests on moves down the slope towards the ocean. They like to keep the poles in a line because they like people to see just how far it moves every year and also to have a record of it. They also have to move the science building that is there, but I don't think they move that every year.

QUOTE(Kalyn Williams @ Nov 28 2005, 10:33 PM)