In January 2014, two researchers from the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Kiruna, traveled to Antarctica to move the Moveable Atmospheric Radar for Antarctica (MARA) from the Norwegian research station Troll to the Indian research station Maitri.
MARA will initially be stationed at Maitri until the 2015/16 Antarctic season. The atmospheric radar will enable researchers to study how air is transported and mixed between various heights in the polar atmosphere. The research project will focus on three phenomena:
- how ice clouds, which form at a height of 100 km over the poles, are being affected by anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide and methane at the earth’s surface,
- how ozone-rich air from the polar stratosphere mixes with air nearer the ground, and
- how air from the surface of the ocean surrounding Antarctica is lifted and dispersed over large areas.
Moving the radar between different locations in Antarctica makes it possible to perform comparative studies. The atmospheric radar was initially deployed at the Swedish Wasa research station, and then relocated to Troll during the 2011/12 Antarctic season.
Principal investigator
Sheila Kirkwood
Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Kiruna