Since the south pole station is on a moving sheet of ice, the location of the marker planted in the moving ice drifts by about 10 meters per year. Every years on new years day, the Geographic South Pole Marker is re-planted at the true pole of the earth, and a new metal marker is revealed. In this ceremony, the station staff are symbolically passing the American Flag from the 2012 marker location to the new 2013 marker location.