Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 01/22/2008 - 05:40
Forums
Antarctic Weather Stations

Answers to WATIZITs:

1-18-08 solar panel on the weather station

Questions for you:

  1. Why doesn't snow evaporate at the South Pole?
  2. Does it snow more in the winter than the summer?
  3. Why is there a solar panel on the weather station because the sun isn't present in the winter to charge it? Does it save enough energy from the summer sun?
  4. When there is a whiteout, how long do they last?
  5. Why was it necessary to have a hot landing?
  6. What was it like being dropped off to camp for several days?
  7. What is a group of penguins called and what is a typical number for a group?

Hope you had fun in western Antarctica! We can't wait to hear about your adventures. 3D and 3R :)

Sat, 01/26/2008 - 18:45

Kirk Beckendorf

You made me do some checking to answer some of your questions. Thanks for making ME ask some questions.Shelley said the snow actually does evaporate (it is actually called sublimation) at the Pole, however snow accumulates faster than it sublimates. Very little snow actually falls at The Pole, but snow blows in from somewhere else. She also said that in general mor snow will fall during the summer than during the winter. On average across the continent about 1 inch of precipitation falls each year. How much falls in your area?
Great question about the solar panels.  The stations also have batteries which are charged by the solar panels when the sun is out. We make sure the panels are pointed towards the north to get the most  sun that they can during spring and fall. The batteries provide enough power to run the station all winter. The stations are designed to use a very small amount of electricity.
Storms/whiteouts can vary in length depending on the time of year and where you are. There are some areas where George has put weather stations an then winds can blow at hurricane force wind for days on end.
The helo dropped George and I off, but there was another science team  on board that was going to another location. So we just jumped out, unloaded our gear and they immediately took off. 
As you can see from the journal reports that I now have of WAIS, it wasn't like we were just dropped off on our own, so there was no sense of being completely on our own. I have done a lot of camping in remote areas completely alone. However, I think that being dropped off here in the middle of nowhere by myself would make me nervous, at least for awhile.
About 30 minues ago I finished talking to a lady who works with penguins. She has a website called Penguin Science  with lots of information for students. She is finishing things up for the year but there is alot of information on her website. Anyway I asked her your exact question. A group of them is called a colony. I don't know that there is a typical number for a group but you could email her and ask.
I had a great time in WAIS.
Thanks
Mr. B.