MARA, the Moveable Atmospheric Radar for Antarctica, is used to study winds, turbulence and layering in the atmosphere. After two complete years of observations at Troll, MARA was moved to the Indian station Maitri in January-February 2014.

At Maitri, MARA observes meteorology over flat terrain near the coast, while at Troll conditions were dominated by mountains. In the upper atmosphere, conditions during the declining phase of the solar cycle are observed.Previously, minimum and increasing phases were covered.

At the end of October 2014, a powerful storm caused widespread damage to the antenna field. Replacement parts were prepared and shipped to Maitri, and a repair team flew from Cape Town in January 2015. The antenna field was repaired and observations resumed on 22 January.

MARA continues to operate, watched over by Indian colleagues on site. Data are streamed in real-time via India and displayed on a web page. So far we have seen some similar and some quite different meteorology compared to Troll, with particularly strong wave structures affecting stable layers low in the atmosphere at Maitri.