Deployment of an autonomous Doppler sodar wind profiling system in Coats Land, Antarctica during 2002 and 2003

The design, development and deployment of the system is documented in:

Deployment in 2002:

The system was installed in 2002 by Russ Ladkin and Ian Renfrew.

Looking South at the deployment of the ten photovoltaic solar panels (facing north) and the ten vertical-axis wind generators. Looking North from behing the solar panels and wind generators. The AWS mast can be seen in the foreground, and Russ Ladking and our tent in the background.
In the foreground the Doppler sodar antenna (8 by 8 array of transducers), in the background to the left an AWS, to the right the solar panels, wind generators and radio antenna. Test deployment on the Brunt Ice Shelf, around five km from Halley, during 2000. Connections to an improvised power system and laptop in the background. The Doppler sodar antenna buried in a pit in the snow in the foreground.
Close up of the vertical-axis, self-limiting wind generators and solar panels. Russ Ladking operating a kite-borne tethersonde to allow atmospheric profiling of the wind speed & direction and hence a comparison with the Doppler sodar observations.

Redeployment in 2003

Russ Ladkin and Phil Anderson visited in 2003 to repair and redeploy. Some damage was sustained to the power system during 2002, in particular the wind generators. Despite this, the system worked well until running out of power during the austral winter. However on the return of solar recharging further soundings were made during spring 2002. During 2003, on redeployment without the wind generators, power was saved till the winter months when a number of excellent observation periods were obtained.

Arrival in January 2003, assessing the damage to the wind generators, looking south. Looking north, with the antenna in the foreground.
Looking north. Redeployment = digging to get the battery boxes up!
Phil Anderson digging. Phil's friends.

Quicklook pictures of all major observing periods are available here.