Update

Now archived! Presentation from the PolarConnect event with George Hademenos and the team working with the Antarctic Automatic Weather Stations in Antarctica. You can access this and other events on the PolarConnect Archives site.

What Are They Doing?

Photo by Elin McIlhattan
Carol Costanza helps recover Laurie II AWS. Photo by Elin McIlhattan
The Antarctic Automatic Weather Station (AWS) network has been making meteorological observations since the early 1980s. This continent-wide network is positioned to observe significant meteorological events and increase our understanding of the climate of the Antarctic surface. Researchers utilize the AWS network to observe and learn about the Antarctic in a warming world. Given the duration of the AWS program and maintaining AWS sites for many years, numerous studies have been conducted on the surface climatology of regions of the continent, such as the Ross Ice Shelf. This climatology also aids in other studies, like winter warming events.

The Antarctic Automatic Weather Station network provides a greater understanding of the surface meteorology and climatology throughout the continent of Antarctica. The AWS network spans the Ross Ice Shelf, Ross Island, West Antarctica, East Antarctica, and the South Pole. Since some of the AWS have been working for over 30 years, we can begin to understand the climate over many regions of Antarctica.

Where Are They?

View of McMurdo Station from Hut Point. Photo by Carol Costanza
View of McMurdo Station from Hut Point. Photo by Carol Costanza
Based at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, the team will travel to remote locations to install, fix, and remove Automatic Weather Stations. These locations vary from the Ross Ice Shelf, Ross Island, West Antarctica, and the South Pole.

Latest Journals

Home Sweet Home When I received my assigned schedule for my time in Antarctica, my first day on the ice was Wednesday, November 1 with my last day being Friday, November 24. Of course, this was the schedule in an ideal world. I had been warned about the ever-changing weather conditions at the drop…
I Can’t Drive 55… But Neither Can Any Driver in Antarctica McMurdo Station is an area akin to a college campus, with almost everything you would need within walking distance. In fact, quite a few days were spent walking in a perpetual cycle from my dorm building, to the Galley for meals, to Crary…
Thank You for Being a Friend As I begin this journal entry, I first would like to point out that the location for this entry is Richardson, Texas (my home). Yep, I just made it home yesterday evening. Although I am not in Antarctica any more, I still have three remaining journal entries that I…
Rainy Days and Mondays (and Bad Weather in Antarctica) Always Get Me Down The day is Saturday, November 25 and the weather is just downright pleasant. I could not have asked for a more exceptional day. The sun was shining, the skies were clear and there was virtually no wind to speak of. Wait…
Dates
-
Location
McMurdo Station
Project Funded Title
Antarctic Automatic Weather Station Program 2016-2019
George Hademenos - Teacher
Teacher
Richardson High School

George Hademenos is currently in his 16th year of teaching physics at Richardson High School in Richardson, Texas (a suburb north of Dallas). He was awarded a BS degree in Physics from Angelo State University and the MS and PhD degrees in Physics from the University of Texas at Dallas. He lives in Richardson with his wife Kelly who recently retired as a classroom teacher. They have a daughter, Alexandra, who graduated from Angelo State University with a degree in Elementary Education, and two fur babies: Atticus and Jane, rescues from the local animal shelter.

As a teacher, George is always on the lookout for innovative approaches and creative resources to help bring science and STEM alive for students in his classes as well as assisting teachers in his district. He is beyond excited to be selected as a participant in the 2017-2018 PolarTREC cohort and looks forward to meeting and collaborating with his research team about the work to be conducted during the expedition in Antarctica.

Carol Costanza - Researcher
Researcher
Antarctic Meteorological Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Carol Costanza is an Associate Instrument Technician at the Antarctic Meteorological Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She works on the Automatic Weather Station (AWS) project and has deployed to Antarctica four times. The AWS project was started in 1980 and currently maintains a network of about 60 AWS across the continent. Carol’s work focuses on the data processing and data management of the AWS data.

Antarctic Automatic Weather Stations Resources

Article in Polar Record written by ARCUS staff and PolarTREC alumni educators that shares impacts of participating in a Teacher Research Experience. Abstract: PolarTREC-Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (PolarTREC) has provided the opportunity for over 160 K-12 teachers and informal science educators from the USA to work directly with scientists in the Arctic and the Antarctic. As a Teacher

Article
Arctic Antarctic
n/a
All Aged
Download and Share

Overview

Most students, regardless of their grade level, live “in the moment,” concerned only with factors and issues that have an immediate and direct impact on their lives. This is, to a large degree, understandable given the pressures, demands, responsibilities and constraints placed on students during their high school academic years. However, as teachers, we are required to not only

Lesson
Antarctic
More than a week
All Aged
Download, Share, and Remix

To begin the process of educating my students on my upcoming expedition to Antarctica, I introduced an activity entitled, “Questions about Antarctica…It’s What’s for Dinner.” In this assignment, small groups were asked to develop a list of 10 questions about anything - weather, clothing, wildlife, geography, geology, oceanography - related to Antarctica. Each question was worth up to 10 points

Lesson
Antarctic
More than a week
High school and Up
Download, Share, and Remix

Formal Introduction

My name is George Hademenos and I am a physics teacher currently in my 17th year at Richardson High School in Richardson, TX. My primary instructional mission as an educator is to ensure that not only are my students exposed to the knowledge, content and lab experiences consistent with a science course, but that they are also

Report
Antarctic
All Aged
Download and Share

Presentation available from teacher George Hademenos which includes information about the Antarctic Automatic Weather Stations being monitored in Antarctica. A video archive of this event is not available due to bandwidth issues during the presentation.

Event
Antarctic
All Aged
Download and Share