MERIDIAN — Polar stations — both hemispheres

Office of Polar Operations

Operations at both poles. Elevated readings logged since March 2019. Details restricted pending ongoing review.

The Office of Polar Operations, designated MERIDIAN, maintains two permanent stations: one at approximately 89°N and one at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station perimeter. Both stations have operated continuously since 1958.

Current operational status is Elevated. This status was assigned in March 2019 and has not been revised. The specific readings that triggered the elevation are classified at the Fourth Degree level. The Institution’s public statement noted only: Consistent with prior observations at this interval. Monitoring continues.

Lake Vostok Liaison

MERIDIAN maintains a formal monitoring liaison with research teams at Lake Vostok, the subglacial lake beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The Institution began monitoring what is now known as Lake Vostok in 1969, nineteen years before the lake’s existence was confirmed by Russian seismic surveys. The Institution’s pre-discovery monitoring records are held in the Archive under restricted access.