Weather Forecast Activity at MZS, Terra Nova Bay:Automated Antarctic ECMWF Data Processing and Distribution Management

Abstract

The Weather Forecast at the Italian base in Antarctica “Mario Zucchelli Station”, is a service conducted by personnel from Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Italian Air Force) and is very important for operational activity during the summer expedition. It allows to manage the base activities in order to use resources in a very safe mode. Currently, weather forecasts, are based on the Global Model of European Centre for Medium Weather Forecast (ECMWF, Reading, UK) data, and on the AMPS forecasts provided by NCAR. Concerning ECMWF data, PNRA staff manages the system architecture from data acquisition directly from Centro Nazionale Meteorologia e Climatologia of Aeronautica Militare (CNMCA, Pratica di Mare, Italy), the italian meteorological service, to data processing and distribution. The final result is the GRADS maps production, utilized by base staff for forecasting activity. During the XXI Antartic expedition the system architecture was changed. It was migrated on Linux-Red Hat platform with the aid of open-source software and it was improved in order to: 1. to supply a more reliable system in term of data distribution and 2. to upgrade the product in the respect of the technical requirements suggested by the meteorological staff.