Yes, weather is a huge factor here on the coldest, driest, and windiest continent.
In fact it, or more specifically the strong wind, affected our team in three different ways in the last 24 hours. First, our team out at field camp could not start work yesterday. The helicopters were able to take the crew out to the field camp but by the time they returned to load up on the gear, the wind was too strong for them to safely fly. Second, our new team member, Kamille Hammerstrom, was scheduled to arrive yesterday! (Yes, she is actually coming). However, the wind was also too strong for her C-17 plane to make a landing so she got stuck in New Zealand where she proceeded to enjoy the botanical garden. Lastly, I was excited to see the Weddell seals and their researchers, but with a condition 1 and condition 2 posted, due to once again the winds, I got stuck in town today. Fortunately, I could tour the Water Desalination Plant and the Fire Station here in town and, even more important, the wind has died down enough so that the helicopters could take the science cargo to camp and Kamille's plane landed just a few minutes ago (I see her bus heading to town now!)
The view from the roof of MacWeather. Can you see the blue galley? My dorm is in one of the light brown buildings on the left.
Since weather is such a big deal here and since my uncle is a weather observer on a mountain in Germany, I visited the weather station here, in the building next to our Crary Lab where I met our local weather observer, Mark Walsh. Mark is a Physics teacher from Charleston, South Carolina who dreamed of coming to Antarctica for many years. After five years of researching ways to get a job here, he finally made it in a very roundabout way -by becoming a weather observer!
He downloaded a manual for the computer system that the weather observers use, memorized the information, passed a test, and then worked part time as a weather observer at the airport in his town for three years. Then he finally got a job and his ticket to Antarctica!
Now he is an integral part of MacWeather here at McMurdo. MacWeather forecasts and observes the weather in town and on the airfield in front of McMurdo. Mark is part of the two-man observation team. He works 12 hours shifts, 4 days a week, to translate weather observations into a standard form that forecasters, air traffic control, and pilots use for their jobs.
What information do you think they measure? Go outside and try to describe the weather in as much detail as possible.
Mark recording the weather.
Mark describes the weather by using information about wind speed and direction, temperature, dew point, visibility, pressure, cloud amount and height. Most of the information comes from instruments though he uses his eyes and experience for two of the factors.
Which factors do you think he can accurately measure himself?
This barograph measures the air pressure
Before we answer that question, let's look at Mark's "secret code". Mark actually thinks of himself as more of a data entry person as he takes information that the computer gives him and inputs it into one of two computer programs. One system is called METAR and it's very much like working with secret codes. Every three hours, Mark looks at readings sent to his computer from various weather instruments and translates them into a specific code which gets sent out all over the world.
This code look like this:
NZIR 2121:55Z 08004 1600 –SN OVO30 M11/M15 A2892 RMK SLP804
What in the world does that mean?
Mark kindly explained it to me.
NZIR: means New Zealand, Ice Runway 2121:55Z stands for the time. What time should he use? Antarctica time, Pacific Coast Time, Greenwhich time? He doesn't use any of them because he wants the whole world to easily access his information. He uses "Zulu" time. No that is not space age time! That is the worldwide time that the military uses for all of its operations. (It is one day and 1 hour behind us here in Antarctica). Can you do the math to find out what Zulu time it is by you?
Back to our code: 08004 stands for the wind direction and knots. It's blowing at 4 knots right now and the wind is coming from the Southeast. 1600 stands for the meters of visibility. This means we can see about 1600 meters or 1 mile. -SN OVO30 stands for overcast skies and the clouds are at 3000 feet above us M11/M15 means that the temperature is -11 degrees Celsius and the dew point is at -15 degrees Celsius. A2892 is the altimeter reading which is related to the air pressure above us. RMK is simple. It means that the following letters and numbers are remarks – extra comments that Mark makes. These could be related to peak winds, volcano eruptions, or wind shifts. SLP804 is Mark's remark about the wind using a special grid system for polar regions.
How high are the clouds? How strong is the wind? Where is it coming from? What instrument measures what?
Isn't that code fun?
If you liked that code, then you might like this next one even more. Mark says, "This system is not that intuitive but the information is stored more precisely."
This program, called synoptic, is based entirely on numbers and it could look like this: 89664 11108 80000 11112 21143 39749 49792 53006 77177 885
What do all these numbers mean?
According to Mark, "every number has a story".
89664 is the McMurdo ID number.
11108 means the temperature is -11 degrees Celsius.
I won't go through the whole set, but you get the idea. Every number means something.
Once Mark inputs these codes, they get sent to the weather forecasters, the pilots, aircraft control, and anyone else who wants the information.
Mark does all of this work not just so we know how many layers to wear when we head out to the ice, but more importantly so that the pilots know if they can safely land their planes and helicopters.
On that note, when do you think it is safe to land a plane in Antarctica?
Antarctica is very dry but sometimes snow drifts into this bucket. Mark then melts it to measure the water. Sometimes he gets 1/100 of an inch!
The pilots actually have various "thresholds", or limits which make landing unsafe and means the passengers on planes boomerang back to New Zealand. Thunderstorms and wind are some of common obstacles. Another obstacle is clouds. If it is really overcast then the pilots cannot see and thus cannot land their planes. What does overcast mean though? If you look at it more closely, it gets a little more complicated. For one it involves the cloud ceiling. How high up is this cloud coverage? If the cloud coverage is above 1500 feet, then pilots can get under it and safely land. However if the clouds are below 1500 feet, then the pilot might still be able to land but only if the clouds aren't covering the entire sky.
To measure this Mark has to go outside and take a couple of the measurements himself. First he measures the height of the clouds by using mountains as references. By looking at a nearby hill, like Observation Hill, which is about 750 feet high, he can tell how far up the clouds are. Mark uses a rating system which breaks the sky up into quadrants or eighths to help quantify cloud coverage. If there are no clouds in the sky, he labels it a clear day. If 1 or 2 of the 8 quadrants (1/8 or 1/4) are covered, then he indicates the day as "few clouds". If 3 or 4 quadrants are blocked by clouds it becomes a "scattered" clouds day. 5, 6, or 7 quadrants and it's "broken" clouds. Lastly, if the whole sky is covered by clouds then, surprise, it's "overcast"! The day I visited Mark it was overcast. With a definition of broken or overcast and a cloud ceiling of 1500 feet or below, planes couldn't land. Thus, that day planes could not land! Yesteday, Kamille's plane didn't land because of the wind. With gusts of 44 knots, it was too windy for a safe landing. Right now it's scattered clouds and winds are gusting at 15 knots (17 mph).
In addition to creating codes and looking at the sky, Mark also gets carry on a tradition that's been going on for over 40 years: launching more balloons.
The WATER DROP attached to the weather balloon.
These are much smaller and less complex than the ones that the French team sent out but they are launched more frequently.
A WATER DROP gets warm in the balloon warming box.
Every day around 11 am, Mark ties instruments to the bottom of a balloon that will measure the pressure, dew point, and temperature of the air as the balloon flies up. He also ties a GPS to the bottom so he can get information about wind speed and wind direction. He then fills a giant balloon with helium and launches it from a clearing in McMurdo.
The balloon is almost ready to be launched. How high will it go?
Every second, information is sent back to his computers. The balloon rises about 300 meters per minute and expands as the air pressure decreases. Finally at about 600,000 feet above earth, the balloon pops!
Mark helped us tie a WATER DROP from Marina's English as a Second Language class at the Santa Cruz Adult School to the balloon.
Mark let me write on the balloon. Who will find it?
According to the instruments, this balloon made it to a height of 62,788.5 feet! If you find it, let us know!
The final message. Will someone write back? Who will find this?
Overall, Mark says he really is an entry-level weather observer and it's not that difficult. He says, "You follow rules and procedures, copy information, and you don't have to think so much". Even though he thinks it's simple, it's important to all of us – for our choice of clothes and outings and for our safe landings and take-offs.
The balloon almost pulls me up!
Helping us even further, Mark writes a blog and he's working on an upcoming book "How to get a Job in Antarctica" in his spare time. Look for that in the future – or our flying WATER DROP and enjoy the weather!
Mark comes to help me launch it properly.
There goes the balloon. What will the instruments tell us? Where will the WATER DROP end up at?
Bon voyage! Schoene Reise. Have a good trip balloon and Water Drop.