| PI | Institute/Department | |
|---|---|---|
| Ahlstrøm, Andreas P |
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
|
| Program Manager | Funding Agency | |
|---|---|---|
| Crain, Ms. Renee |
NSF, Office of Polar Programs
|
This project is a continuation of the Greenland Climate Network (GC-Net), a system of 16 AWS’s that were established in 1995 as part of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) climate research program. Each GC-Net AWS is equipped with a number of instruments to sample the following: air temperature, wind speed, wind direction, humidity, pressure; accumulation rate at high temporal resolution to identify and resolve individual storms; surface radiation balance in visible and infrared wavelengths; sensible and latent heat fluxes; and snowpack conductive heat fluxes.
While the GC-Net AWS’s were maintained for many years by the late Dr. Konrad Steffen at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), in early 2021, GEUS took over responsibility and maintenance of the network. Ultimately, the GC-Net AWS’s are a central part of climate monitoring on the Greenland ice sheet where data from the stations is used to validate satellite data and improve climate models of the ice sheet.
In August 2021, four GEUS participants will conduct routine maintenance at GC-Net AWS sites outside of Qaanaaq and Upernavik, followed by fieldwork near Summit Station. They will travel to Greenland via commercial air from Copenhagen, and charter a Twin Otter from Iceland to access their various Northern Greenland field sites and Summit Station.
The chartered flight activity at Summit Station will consist of “zero touch” support, and the GEUS participants and Twin Otter pilots will arrive prepared to remain completely separate from station personnel and infrastructure in the event of an extended stay. Refueling operations will be coordinated by radio between the aircrew and station personnel to maintain an appropriate distance.
Due to weather conditions, the chartered flight activities and fuel stop at Summit Station were cancelled. The group refueled in Upernavik and continued their journey for system maintenance on the East Coast.
In 2022 a stop at Summit Station was cancelled due to travel restrictions related to Covid 19. They do not plan to stop in 2023, but have deferred to 2024.
Battelle ARO will provide project management and administrative support and Air National Guard cargo coordination. All other logistics will be organized and paid for by the project.
| Season | Field Site | Date In | Date Out | #People |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2025
|
Greenland - Summit
|
|
|
4
|