Daily Image

23-02-2012
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LOFAR tiles in the Arctic

Submitter: Derek McKay-Bukowski
Description: KAIRA (Kilpisjärvi Atmospheric Imaging Receiver Array) is a project in Arctic Finland (69.0°N, 20.9°E) which also makes use of the LOFAR system developed by ASTRON. KAIRA was designed to be used both alone and in conjunction with other facilities, such as the EISCAT VHF incoherent scatter radar in Tromsø. Due to the harsh Arctic conditions, construction is taking place over several summers.

So far, the High-Band Array (HBA) has been deployed, although the array layout is somewhat different to that of a regular LOFAR station. But in order to cope with extreme snow depths, drifts and ice loading, the entire array was built 1.5 metres above ground on a timber framework. Although we ran some very successful tests during the winter of 2010-2011, this is the first winter of the complete array in its final configuration. And, so far it is doing very well.

The photograph (taken on 24-Jan-2012) shows the initial hint of midday sunlight clipping the mountains in the distance behind the KAIRA HBA at the end of a long polar night. There is a reasonable amount of snow about, but what is significant is that natural wind-sheer is keeping the top of the array moderately clear of snow.

More information about KAIRA can be found at the project web log: http://kaira.sgo.fi/
Copyright: Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory
 
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