16 December 2019 This season on IceCube

This season on IceCube

Jocelyn update
It’s been early mornings helping at the SPICE Core camp. I don’t mind because it means I get to drive a snowmobile a few minutes after I wake up. Today is beautiful. After a couple of overcast days, of white sky against white ice, the sun is peaking through. I’m thankful for the sun because it’s an extremely important source of heat—something you learn very quickly after spending 30 minutes outside on a cloudy day. The rest of the SPICE Core team have been working very long hours and they’ve confessed to me that the sun, and their schedule, has left them feeling lost in time. But it’s the south pole and the science must continue! Don’t worry, we are very considerate of each other and make sure everyone has a decent night’s (or day’s) sleep.

Science update
IceCube was completed December 2010 and has been collecting data since. The DOMs are still up and running and have survived their life in the ice. My first question when matched with IceCube was -- What else is there to work on if the project was finished almost ten years ago? The answer- UPGRADE! With ten years of data, scientists have learned a lot about neutrinos, but they have also found new questions and limitations that are worth improving. Here are a couple of the goals of the IceCube Upgrade project and how this season is working toward accomplishing those goals:

• Learning about the ice a.k.a. SPICE Core
  Since IceCube’s detectors are in the ice and we are collecting data as neutrinos interact with the ice, it only makes sense that we learn as much as possible about the ice. The goal of SPICE Core is to study different properties of the ice by deploying specialized devices into an open ice hole 1.75km in depth. This is the main project collecting data for the upgrade this season, and we are trying to fill this week with as many experiment runs as possible since the winch (needed to lower the devices into the hole) was delayed by flight schedules. Some examples of what these devices are measuring are patterns of light scattering and how well radio frequencies travel through the ice.

• Drill camp set-up
  One of the goals of the IceCube project is to drill seven new holes for seven new strings of DOMs. These holes will be a part of Deep Core, a section of IceCube where there are more sensors more closely spaced both vertically and horizontally. Deep Core DOMs help better understand low-energy neutrinos, which will be more likely to interact with a higher density of DOMs. The actual drilling process won’t take place for another 3 years. The seasons leading up to it, including this season, are reserved for preparation- equipment needs to be maintained and repaired. Science in Antarctica is unique in that there are only four months out of the year to get work done on the continent. So, it is not uncommon that the start of a project has a few years of lead time.

A beautiful day at the South Pole The team walking into the IceCube Lab

I’ve been spending a lot of time with the SPICE Core team, but I’m planning to stop by the drill camp this week and get a little more information on what they’re working on. Word on the ice is they are ahead of schedule. Woo! What a luxury!

Talk soon, friends.
Jocelyn