Demographics of Antarctica
Antarctica has few permanent residents, and contains research stations and field camps that are staffed seasonally or year-round, and former whaling settlements. The largest station, McMurdo Station, has a summer population of about 1,000 people and a winter population of about 200. Approximately 29 nations, all signatory to the Antarctic Treaty, send personnel to perform seasonal (summer) or year-round research on the continent and in its surrounding oceans.
IceCube Neutrino Observatory
IceCube is part of a series of projects developed and supervised by the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Collaboration and funding are provided by numerous other universities and research institutions worldwide. Construction of IceCube was only possible during the Antarctic austral summer from November to February, when permanent sunlight allows for 24-hour drilling. Construction began in 2005, when the first IceCube string was deployed and sufficient data was collected to verify that the optical sensors functioned correctly. In the 2005–2006 season, an additional eight strings were deployed, making IceCube the largest neutrino telescope in the world.