Hunting Neutrinos in Antarctica

Carlos Pobes is a physicist from Aragon who had to pass a bunch of medical and psychological tests to prove that he could handle months of complete darkness and isolation, as well as the conditions of extreme coldness, dryness, and altitude. It’s not just because physics is a physically brutal and demanding field, it’s because he had to prove he’d be OK to spend nearly a year in Antarctica investigating neutrons with the IceCube project at the Admundsen-Scott base in the geographic South Pole.

He arrived there last month and will be there until next September. During the summer (which is now, with an average temperature of -20ºC), 250 people live on the base; in the winter, only 50 people remain, enjoying an average temperature of -70ºC. The last airplane leaves on the 15th of March and the base is isolated during a night that lasts six months, until the middle of September. Carlos is the first Spaniard in history to spend a winter in Antarctica.

VICE: Please explain to us in simple terms what it is that you're doing for a year in Antarctica.
Carlos Pobes: Well, it turns out that the universe is so kind that, just to keep physicists in a job, it sends us a whole bunch of invisible particles that are apparently useless. One of these types is the neutron. Neutrons are fundamental to our understanding of how the universe works on a smaller scale, and they provide fundamental information that helps us resolve mysteries like the origin of high-energy cosmic rays or the nature of dark matter. Although it may seem hard to believe, humans also produce neutrons. The problem is that as particles go, neutrons are pretty sneaky; they can travel right through the earth without bumping into anything. The only way to catch one is to build a big enough "trap."

Neutron telescopes like IceCube require a detector at least one cubed kilometer large (think about it for a second, one kilometer in each direction: length, width and height). Since there is no way to building something like that, what we do is take advantage of the fact that in the South Pole there is a layer of ice almost three kilometers deep. They've distributed more than 5,000 sensors within the ice, for which they’ve had to make almost a hundred holes each 2.5 kilometers deep. In this way, the ice itself becomes the detector. The last sensors were installed last year and now it's taking data at full force. The problem is that a lot of things can go wrong. While some can be fixed via internet, others can't, and it's fundamental that the detector constantly takes data, because some of the astrophysical phenomenon of interest last only for minutes or seconds. Because of that we need permanent staff at the base. So basically, my work here is to make sure that the device is continually operative.

What was the selection process like for this job?
Strange. There wasn't a moment where I thought it wasn't a lost cause, so I went all out on the cover letter and didn’t think twice about it. But I guess they liked that. Also, since you don't really know what you're getting yourself into, you try to make it so that the person who is selecting you knows you well so that if they pick you it will be because they think you can do it. That was the best part. Normally in a selection process you try to hide your weaknesses, but I was the first person they met who was genuinely interested in the project. You don't want to get to Antarctica and suddenly find out it's not for you!

Did you have to go through any specific training? Like spending the night in a fridge?
Ha, People said that to me all the time to me before I started the training in the US, asking if they were going to put me in a fridge. But oddly they didn't give us any specific training for the cold. The only specific training (apart from what was needed to conduct the experiment) had to do with fire management and first aid. And personally, I haven't been working out or anything, although I do like running in the mountains.

I can't stop thinking that to live in the South Pole you have to be some type of superman mentally and physically.
Definitely not. Well, I suppose that if you had to get there by walking, then yes, but for the rest of us it's enough to not be scared of flying. The truth is that most of the people here don't run marathons, they're normal people. The only requirement is to be minimally healthy. Well, and to be crazy enough to want to go, but not crazy enough to turn it into the Overlook hotel in The Shining. The better a sense of humor you have, the better off you’ll be.

What is a normal day like at the station?
I don't think I've had a normal day, but bit by bit you start to define a routine. The meals are self-service with certain schedules, and everyone adapts to what works for them. So far we've spent most of the days learning all the intricacies of the experiment and other types of training. I'm in the fire safety brigade, for example, and we have a session every week. After dinner people watch movies, play football, basketball, or volleyball, go to dance lessons, or practice in the music room. When I find myself with some extra time, I run on the treadmill or outside. As far as hygiene, we are allowed two two-minute showers a week. Since I run three days a week, I've managed to distribute those 4 minutes into three showers. But realistically, with normal activities, you sweat very little because the relative humidity inside the station is less than 10%. Which means we all have very dry hands. We also have to carry a radio with us during the entire day. Aside from using it for general news, if the experiment has some type of serious problem an alarm is sent to your radio no matter what time it is and you have to respond. Basically the experiment is like a big Tamagotchi.

I saw on your Facebook page and on your blog that on the base people organize games of bingo and costume dances, that they play short zombie films… I'm pretty amazed that there are people who when they're packing for Antarctica include a zombie mask.
There is an incredible atmosphere around here. People send boxes with things, and the majority of the contents aren't necessary for survival. There's also a room for arts and crafts and a studio, so what we don't have, we make. We organize, for example, a film festival and people make amazing things. And in the "Around the World" race on Christmas day people also run in costumes. It's amazing.

What's the sex situation like? I imagine hooking up in the coldest, most isolated human settlement on the planet would be pretty hot. I remember reading something in the news a while ago about thousands of condoms being sent to a base similar to yours.
To be honest, my love life is exactly the same as it was in Spain. Which was absolutely none. But as far as hooking up, people hook up. I can tell you that in every bathroom in the base there is a basket with free condoms that needs to be refilled every so often. There's a saying: "What happens in the South Pole stays in the South Pole."