PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATION IN THE PERPETUAL FROST CLIMATE OF EAST

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; East Antarctica; Indian; Maitri; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.509.1715; http://www.moc.cma.gov.cn/mocdoc/2008/TECH-2008/P2(39)_Ranalkar_India.pdf

In the year 2006-07, India Meteorological Department (IMD) expanded and upgraded its network of Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) by induction of 125 satellite linked AWS. A central receiving earth station in complete redundancy mode is also established at INSAT AWS Laboratory, IMD, Pune for reception of data through KALPANA1 (74 °E) satellite in near real time. IMD has planned to install 550 more AWS and 1350 Automatic Rain Gauge (ARG) Stations by the year 2009. The present AWS network encompasses multifarious climatic zones of India. During 26 th Indian Antarctica Expedition an AWS is installed in the perpetual frost climate [EF] at the Indian Antarctic Station; Maitri [70.77 °S / 11.73 °E] located in Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica. The preliminary results of the performance of the Antarctica AWS during March 2007- June 2008 are presented in this paper. The coldest month during the period under study was June 2008 with monthly mean temperature of-17.5 °C. Spectral analysis of temperature shows dominant periodicity with day and 1 day. With the onset of winter season gradual fall of temperature is observed from March to September. The winds were predominantly ESE to SE during the period of analysis with directional constancy of 0.87. Performance of Maitri AWS during blizzards is observed to be in agreement with conventional observations. 1.