The primary goal of this event is to retrieve the SNOW WEB nodes at a range of locations to the east of Ross Island. The deployment by K055-1415-A should have provided detailed meteorological information which can then be used with remote sensing data to examine how meteorology impacts the Ross Sea Polynya. To accomplish the retrieval, we will have to use helicopters to transport us to sites. The collection phase also needs to occur as late in February as possible because the meteorological phenomena we wish to examine occur most frequently later in the Antarctic season. If insufficient meteorological events have been recorded the nodes at Laurie II AWS are likely to be wintered over and recovered in the following season.
Work on the MF RADAR will involve routine maintenance, calibration, radio frequency noise survey, upgrade/replace the computer systems to run our highly specialised data aquisition systems under Windows 7. Optimising the transmitter at Scott Base and scoping out options for its possible relocation as part of the base upgrades to the Hatherton Lab. Likewise, scoping work on the ionosonde located in the lab will need to be factored in to this mission.
