Servicing Automatic Weather Stations for the PEACE project

Last week during their trip to the coast, IPF engineers performed routine maintenence on automatic weather stations (AWS) used in Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Climate Experiment (PEACE) project.

A collaboration between the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) the University of Colorado Boulder and IPF, the project is collecting meteorological data (wind speed, wind direction, temperature, relative humidity etc. at different heights from the ground) along a 200 km south-north transect from the Antarctic Plateau in the interior of the continent to the lower slope of the ice shelf near the coast of Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica.

IPF engineers Nicolas Herinckx and Aymar de Lichtervelde assess one of the automatic weather stations along the PEACE project transect.

© International Polar Foundation
IPF engineers working on one of the automatic weather stations used in the PEACE project.

© International Polar Foundation
The team servicing the automatic weather stations used the Toyota Hilux as a way to get from station to station.

© International Polar Foundation
The engineers and their field guide slept in tents during their extended trip to service the automatic weather stations.

© International Polar Foundation
It's important to add the weight of the snow around the outside of the tent so the wind doesn't blow it away during the night. Winds can be as strong as 150 km per hour in these parts!

© International Polar Foundation
BELARE Team Leader Alain Hubert hikes to the top of Van Autenboer Peak in the Sør Rondane Mountains to install the relay antenna for the PEACE project.

© International Polar Foundation
BELARE Team Leader Alain Hubert and IPF engineers install the relay antenna at the top of Van Autenboer Peak in the Sør Rondane Mountains to give a line of sight from the Antarctic Plateau to the Princess Ragnhild Coast for all automatic weather stations in the PEACE project.

© International Polar Foundation
Simon Steffen poses with the relay station atop Van Autenboer Peak in the Sør Rondane Mountains.

© International Polar Foundation
An aerial drone view of the IPF team installing a relay staiton for the PEACE project on Van Autenboer Peak in the Sør Rondane Mountains.

© International Polar Foundation
The relay station for the PEACE project on Van Autenboer Peak in the Sør Rondane Mountains is powered with a sturdy wind turbine.

© International Polar Foundation

Servicing Automatic Weather Stations for the PEACE project

Press Officer