UW Automatic Weather Stations - 2009

Regions:Years: Ross Island Vicinity
Stations (2009):

Minna Bluff AWS

Owner: UW AWS UW
Site Code: MNB
Initial Start Date: 1991-01-22
Info from Service Visit: 2008-10-31
Latitude: -78.555 S
Longitude: 166.691 E
Elevation: 895 meters
WMO ID: 89768

AWS Model: AWS2HWS
ARGOS ID: 8939
2009 Archive (FTP): 3-hourly | 10-minute

Station Records:
Max. Temp. (C) 1.1   1996-12-24
Min. Temp. (C) -48.1   1993-08-24
Max Wind (m/s) 61.3   1996-12-24
Max. Press. (mb) 916   1999-06-17
Min. Press. (mb) 831.4   1993-07-19


Notes: Station was named for the geographic location on which the station resides.

Replacement of Argos transmitter with Freewave transmitter on 2-4-11 (approximate ground time 2.75 hours)

Team: Jonathan, Lee and Melissa
Pilot: Paul + Helo Tech

UNAVCO GPS was not set out. The coordinates for this station should not have changed.

It was about a 0.5 hour 212 helo flight from McMurdo.

The original instrument heights were:

Boom: 60"
Electronics box: 27"

And the boom was oriented at 328 deg.

We removed all of the instruments from the existing tower. We removed the existing batteries, tower and base.

The station is on dirt (actually, very hard permafrost). We chiseled out a hole large enough to fit a metal base. We leveled the base and installed a 7' tower section. We used the existing guide lines to secure the tower. We also covered the metal base with rocks from the surrounding area. The existing boom was re-installed on the station. A new solar panel, antennae (Freewave), electronics box, junction box and 2 battery boxes were installed. The battery boxes were placed with the cables facing each other in order to protect the cables. A rock wall was then built around the battery boxes and the remaining tower in order to help with stability and protection.

We received good readings on the computer. We will be able to test the effectiveness of the Freewave transmitter after the antennae installation at McMurdo on Tuesday.

The final instrument heights are:

Boom: 87"
Electronics box: 22"

Boom is oriented at 359 deg.