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Meteorology Station - Wolverine Glacier, Alaska
Photograph by Ben Kennedy, August, 1998.
Photograph looking
northeast at the meteorology station at Wolverine Glacier. The station is located at
990 meters altitude on the
crest of a wind-swept ridge along the western boundary of the glacier. The
snow cover at the site is typically minimal during the winter season and does not result in
significant seasonal change to the ground clearance of the sensors. The small white vented
shelter to the left in the photograph houses the temperature sensors. Behind it can be
seen the eastern portion of the middle and upper glacier. The precipitation gage, shown in the
left center
of the photograph, consists of a steel storage tank that tapers to a conical orifice,
0.305 meters in diameter, 3 meters above the ground. A modified Nipher shield is installed
around the orifice to improve the catch efficiency during windy conditions and to help
prevent snow from capping the orifice. The panels of the shield are hinged near the top so
they can swing in the wind to help shed snow. The
white color of the lower section of the gage reduces solar warming and expansion of the
stored antifreeze-water solution. The storage tank contains a self-mixing antifreeze. An
oil layer prevents evaporation of antifreeze and stored precipitation. A float is used to
sense changes in the volume of stored precipitation catch and hence determine daily
precipitation catch. The gray boxes on the side of the gage house the recording
instrumentation. The 55 gallon barrel to the left of the gage stores extra
antifreeze.
This meteorological equipment has remained essentially the
same since the station began operation in 1967. In September 1995, two digital temperature
sensors, a digital wind speed sensor, digital data logger, and satellite telemetry were
added to the station. The wind speed sensor can be seen atop the pipe
mid-way between the temperature sensor shelter and the precipitation
storage tank.
Maintainer: Rod March
Last update: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 12:46 PM
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