The Antarctic Automatic Weather Station (AWS) network, first commenced in 1978, is the most extensive meteorological observing system on the Antarctic continent, approaching its 30th year at many of its key sites. Its prime focus as a long term observational record is vital to the measurement of the near surface climatology of the Antarctic atmosphere. AWS units measure air-temperature, pressure, wind speed and direction at a nominal surface height of 3m. Other parameters such as relative humidity and snow accumulation may also be taken. Observational data from the AWS are collected via the DCS Argos system aboard either NOAA or MetOp polar orbiting satellites and thus made available globally, in near real time via the GTS (Global Telecommunications System), to operational and synoptic weather forecasters. The surface observations from the AWS network also are often used to check on satellite and remote sensing observations, and the simulations of Global Climate Models (GCMs). Research instances of its use in this project include continued development of the climatology of the Antarctic atmosphere and surface wind studies of the Ross Ice Shelf.
The AWS observations benefit the broader earth system science community, supporting research activities ranging from paleoclimate studies to penguin phenology.
The Antarctic plays a critical role in the global climate system and thus impacts all of society. As part of this project we maintained a network of automatic weather stations (AWS) that observe the temperature, humidity, pressure, and winds across the surface of the Antarctic continent. This is the largest network of surface weather observations in the Antarctic and data from this network is fed into global weather models, helping to improve weather forecasts across the planet. This network has provided weather observations from the Antarctic for more than 30 years, and this long-term record of Antarctic weather is critical for assessing how Antarctic climate has changed over the past several decades. During this project a 100 foot "tall tower" AWS has been installed enabling the detailed study of the boundary layer and low Antarctic atmosphere. A new communication system has been installed to save on satellite communications costs. Improvements in weather station configurations and new instrumentation have been tested over this period. Our work on this project also explores the fundamental processes that control the weather and climate of Antarctica. The AWS network made a significant contribution to identifying the warming of Central West Antarctica with the Byrd AWS record. Further, observations from our network are routinely published in the State of Climate peer-reviewed publication of the American Meteorological Society. Research as part of this project investigated the mechanisms by which strong winds develop along the Transantarctic Mountains. While this research focused on a mountain range in the Antarctic, the findings from this work are relevant to mountain ranges anywhere on the planet, providing a direct benefit to those living in mountainous regions by improving our understanding of the processes that lead to these potentially damaging high wind events and thus improving our ability to forecast such events. As part of this project we also explored the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, to make scientific measurements in the Antarctic. While inappropriate use of drones has received much negative attention we found that UAVs can also provide high quality data at a much lower cost than traditional manned research flights, thus offering the potential for cost savings for future Antarctic (and beyond) research. An important part of all scientific research is communicating our findings to other scientists, and we have done this this by attending scientific meetings and conferences and publishing our results in peer reviewed scientific journals. A history of the AWS program was published in a peer-viewed journal that provides a reference and overview of the 30-year contribution of the network. Equally important is providing the public with information about our scientific activities. We have achieved this goal online through the maintenance of a blog describing Antarctic field science, via social media and the web. A virtual tour made by students/young scientists about the weather stations and our deployments to the Antarctic has been made available on You Tube. We also conduct outreach by visiting, either in person or online, students in elementary, middle, and high schools and at a community college. The general public is engaged at the University of Wisconsin open house events and the Wisconsin State Fair. We have also contributed a chapter on Antarctic weather and climate to a book on Antarctic science targeted at the general public.
