ROBERT E. HOLMES, CHARLES R. STEARNS, and GEORGE A. WEIDNER, Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
The National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs places automatic weather station (AWS) units in remote areas in Antarctica in support of meteorological research, applications, and operations (see figure). The basic AWS units measure air temperature, air pressure, wind speed, and wind direction. Some units measure relative humidity and the air temperature difference (delta-T) between 3 meters (m) and 0.5 m above the surface at the time of installation. The data are collected by the ARGOS Data Collection System onboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration series of polar-orbiting satellites. Holmes, Weidner, and Stearns (1995) and Stearns, Weidner, and Holmes (1994) describe the AWS activities during the two previous austral summers.
Location information for the AWS units in operation in 1996 is given in the table. The AWS units are located in arrays for meteorological experiments and at other sites for operational purposes. Any one AWS may contribute to several experiments, and all can contribute to operational purposes.
Some of the areas supported are the following:
The 1995-1996 antarctic field season began on 2 November 1995 when G.A. Weidner and R.E. Holmes left Madison, Wisconsin, for McMurdo Station, Antarctica, arriving on 6 November 1995.
A Twin Otter flight was made to Sandra AWS site on 8 November. The unit was removed completely, and AWS 8923 was returned to McMurdo to be repaired and redeployed at another site.
A Twin Otter flight was made on 9 November to Gill AWS site, but the site could not be located, so the flight continued to Schwerdtfeger AWS site. One 1.5-m tower section was added, and AWS 8913 was removed and returned to McMurdo to be repaired.
On 14 November, a Twin Otter flight to Elaine site was made. The aerovane was replaced, two boxes of three gel-cell batteries were installed, and the lower delta-T sensor was raised.
Pegasus North AWS site was visited by snowmobile on 17 November 1995. Two boxes of three gel-cell batteries were installed.
On 18 November, a Naval Support Force Antarctica (NSFA) helicopter flight was made to Linda AWS site. A Bendix aerovane was installed, but the unit continued to malfunction. On 24 November, a second NSFA helicopter flight was made to Linda AWS site. AWS 8915 was removed and replaced with AWS 8909.
Willie Field AWS site was visited by truck on 27 November 1995. Two boxes of three gel-cell batteries were installed, and the station was raised by one 1.8-m tower section. The Ultrasonic Depth Gauge (UDG) data were downloaded from the CR-10 data logger, and the UDG sensor was raised to a height of 1.36 m.
On 16 December, Charles Stearns and Jonathan Thom left Madison, Wisconsin, for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Polar Star in Hobart, Tasmania, arriving there on 18 December. The Polar Star left Hobart on 20 December.
On 25 December, a USCG helicopter flight was made to D-10, and AWS 21364 was installed. A second USCG helicopter flight was made to Sutton site, but it could not be located. A flight was then made to Port Martin site. A new guy cable was installed. Next, a flight was made to Cape Denison, and the unit was found in good working order.
A USCG helicopter flight was made to Cape Webb on 26 December, and the unit was repaired. A second flight was made to Penguin Point, and the unit was repaired.
On 28 December, Greig Thompson left Madison, Wisconsin, for McMurdo Station, arriving there on 4 January 1996. Stearns and Thom arrived at McMurdo on 6 January.
On 16 January, Stearns, Thompson, and Thom left McMurdo Station for Up Stream Bravo. On 17 January, a Twin Otter flight was made to Elizabeth site, and AWS 21356 was removed and replaced with new 21361 electronics. The aero-vane and the antenna cable were replaced.
On 18 January, a Twin Otter flight was made to J.C. site. The unit was repaired, but the malfunctioning wind direction was not investigated because of the high wind speed at the time of the site visit. The flight continued on to Erin site, where the antenna cable was replaced, but the unit still did not transmit. Because of limited resources, the electronics were not replaced at that time. A second Twin Otter flight was made to Theresa site, and the unit was repaired. A flight to Erin site was then made, and AWS 21361 was replaced with 21363. A Belfort aerovane was also installed.
On 19 January, Stearns, Thom, and Thompson returned to McMurdo Station by LC-130.
On 23 January, a Twin Otter flight was made to Marilyn site. The site was raised, and two boxes of three gel-cell batteries were installed. A new power junction box, antenna, and solar panel were also installed. The following day, a Twin Otter flight was made to Gill site and the site was raised.
A Twin Otter flight was made to Schwerdtfeger site on 27 January, and AWS 8913 was installed. A Bendix aerovane was installed as well as two boxes of three gel-cell batteries and new battery cables.
Crew members of the USCG Polar Star installed dog house AWS 8980 at Young Island. Dog house AWS 8983 was not installed at Scott Island because of fog.
On the Antarctic Peninsula, members of the British Antarctic Survey raised the AWS unit at Uranus Glacier on 28 November and installed AWS 8925 on the Ronne Ice Shelf on 30 November. On 10 December, Ski Hi site was visited; the station was in good working order and did not need to be raised. Members of the LTER group replaced the batteries at Bonaparte Point AWS site on 14 January and installed a sea-water temperature probe at Santa Claus Island AWS site on 13 February. The sea-water temperature probe did not function properly.
Members of Programma Nazionle di Ricerche in Antartide at Terra Nova Bay installed a Belfort aerovane at Manuela site. The aerovane was delivered to them by the Polar Star on the refueling trip for the base.
Members of Institut Français pour la Recherche et la Technologie Polaires (IFRTP) installed AWS 8989 at Dome-C II on 12 December. On 15 December, Dome-C site was disconnected from the Radioactive Thermonuclear Generator and was connected to batteries. The station ran for approximately 18 days before the batteries were drained of power, and the unit was removed. AWS 8914 was removed from D-80, and AWS 8916 was installed on 24 January. In early February, AWS 21360 was installed at D-57, and AWS 8986 was installed at D-47. Also, AWS 21364 was removed from D-10 on 21 January and replaced with AWS 8919.
We were assisted in Antarctica by Jonathan Thom and Greig Thompson of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin, NSFA-Meteorology, and by the crews of the Twin Otters, LC-130s, NSFA helicopters, USCG helicopters, and the USCG Polar Star . The AWS program is supported by National Science Foundation grant OPP 94-19128.
Holmes, R.E., G.A. Weidner, and C.R. Stearns. 1995. Antarctic automatic weather stations: 1994-1995. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 30(5), 327-329.
Stearns, C.R., G.A. Weidner, and R.E. Holmes. 1994. Antarctic automatic weather stations: Austral summer 1993-1994. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 29(5), 281-284.