{"id":391,"date":"2015-06-01T14:13:38","date_gmt":"2015-06-01T20:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/?p=391"},"modified":"2015-06-01T21:19:36","modified_gmt":"2015-06-02T03:19:36","slug":"from-a-scientists-perspective-kan_u","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/2015\/06\/01\/from-a-scientists-perspective-kan_u\/","title":{"rendered":"From a Scientist&#8217;s Perspective: KAN_U"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/04\/IMG_3808_e.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-130 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/04\/IMG_3808_e-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Achim Heilig\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h6><strong>by Achim Heilig<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p>The elevation at KAN-U is the\u00a0is the lowest of all the sites we visited on the ice sheet at 1840\u00a0m\u00a0asl (6037 ft asl), \u00a0which consequently experiences the largest amount of melt. \u00a0The ~3-hour, 65km (40 mi) traverse to KAN_U was a relatively smooth journey. \u00a0Due to strong <a href=\"http:\/\/www.weatheronline.co.uk\/reports\/wxfacts\/Katabatic-winds.htm\" target=\"_blank\">katabatic<\/a> winds that morning, we were unable to pack up and move camp until later in the afternoon and ended up having a very late dinner after we arrived.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_392\" style=\"width: 891px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-392\" class=\"wp-image-392 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim1.jpg\" alt=\"KAN_U Camp. Photo by Achim Heilig\" width=\"881\" height=\"661\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim1.jpg 881w, https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim1-624x468.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 881px) 100vw, 881px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-392\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">KAN_U Camp. Photo by Achim Heilig<\/p><\/div>\n<p>KAN_U was our busiest site, and the tasks there were numerous:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We needed to build a new automatic weather station (AWS) to replace the old\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.geus.dk\/geuspage-uk.htm\" target=\"_blank\">GEUS<\/a>\u00a0KAN-U AWS, which was now\u00a0buried in the snow<\/li>\n<li>Disassemble and remove all instruments from the old AWS<\/li>\n<li>Set up a\u00a0mass-balance pole network to assess spatial variability in snow accumulation and measure each pole with GPS readings to assess annual dynamic movement<\/li>\n<li>Extend the existing <a href=\"http:\/\/cires.colorado.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">CIRES<\/a>\u00a0FirnCover station<\/li>\n<li>Drill a firn core<\/li>\n<li>Install 2 thermistor strings<\/li>\n<li>Installed compaction station (one at the GEUS AWS, the other at the CIRES AWS)<\/li>\n<li>Extract a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sommer.at\/no_cache\/en\/products\/sensors-devices\/snow\/sommer\/own\/spa-snow-pack-analysing-system-1.html\" target=\"_blank\">Snow Pack Analyzer (SPA)<\/a>, which had been installed in 2012<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Weather was pleasant our first full work day, which supported progress for all tasks.\u00a0Babis and I\u00a0built\u00a0the AWS and drilled a thermistor hole for the weather station. Max, Darren and Shane took care of the mass-balance network including density determinations of the recent snow accumulation and Mike prepared the extension of his station.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_393\" style=\"width: 989px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-393\" class=\"wp-image-393 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim2.jpg\" alt=\"Weather stations at KAN-U. Another year and the pole of the old GEUS AWS will disappear. Photo by Achim Heilig\" width=\"979\" height=\"734\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim2.jpg 979w, https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim2-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim2-624x467.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 979px) 100vw, 979px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-393\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Weather stations at KAN-U. Another year and the pole of the old GEUS AWS will disappear. Photo by Achim Heilig<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_394\" style=\"width: 635px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-394\" class=\"wp-image-394 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim3-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"The new GEUS AWS. Photo by Achim Heilig\" width=\"625\" height=\"468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim3-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim3-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim3-624x468.jpg 624w, https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2015\/06\/Achim3.jpg 1142w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-394\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The new GEUS AWS. Photo by Achim Heilig<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The next morning started again with strong katabatics, however, the inclement conditions did not prevent us from extracting\u00a0the SPA which was located at a depth of approximately 1.5 m (5 ft). Unfortunately, the system had\u00a0not produced any usable data for 3 years.<\/p>\n<p>Almost\u00a0all tasks were completed by the second day, thanks to improved weather conditions and by day three,\u00a0we finalized the tower for Mike\u2019s station. Heading back to DYE 2, we were able to traverse at an average speed of 35 km\/h (22 mph). \u00a0We had another late arrival and dinner by 11pm.<\/p>\n<p>It was quite surprising to me that plastic containers could break so easily in the cold, which consequently, one dropped a 24\u00a0Ah battery on my\u00a0knee. Nothing serious, but a bit painful.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Achim Heilig<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Achim Heilig The elevation at KAN-U is the\u00a0is the lowest of all the sites we visited on the ice sheet at 1840\u00a0m\u00a0asl (6037 ft asl), \u00a0which consequently experiences the largest amount of melt. \u00a0The ~3-hour, 65km (40 mi) traverse to KAN_U was a relatively smooth journey. \u00a0Due to strong katabatic winds that morning, we&hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/2015\/06\/01\/from-a-scientists-perspective-kan_u\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[11,44,12],"class_list":["post-391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-kan_u","tag-katabatic","tag-weather-station"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-20 21:11:04","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":399,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391\/revisions\/399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/firncover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}