The instruments embedded in the ice are sensors that detect light from particle collisions. IceCube’s main scientific focus is detecting high-energy neutrinos, which are sometimes called “ghost particles” because they rarely interact with matter. When a neutrino collides with a particle in the ice, it produces light, which our sensors detect and relay through cables to our laboratory building. IceCube currently has 5,160 sensors buried in the ice, and over the next three months, we’ll add 700 more! That project is called the IceCube Upgrade, and it’s what I’m working on right now.
In addition to getting to know one another, we wanted to become familiar with the equipment, technology, manuals, protocols, and timelines. Our approach was to train everyone a little bit on a lot of different things. We knew we couldn’t make everyone an expert in everything, but we wanted team members to know whom to ask when they had a question about this thingamabob or that whatsamajig. Those of us who’ve worked in remote, isolated places under extreme conditions know how harsh Antarctica can be. You can’t just run to the store to grab a part you forgot to pack — you have to be creative and make do with what you have. We’re doing our best to anticipate the hiccups, but we know things will happen that we haven’t planned for. Parts will break. Planes will be delayed. The weather will turn. Our goal was to build a can-do mindset among people who are ready to pivot and work together. By the end of training, we still couldn’t predict every curveball, but we felt like a unified team ready to troubleshoot whatever comes our way.
Underlying everything we do this summer is safety.
