Over the last month at Casey, we have been busy undertaking two deep field trips in support of AWS maintenance at Haupt Nunatak and Law Dome. These AWS are critical tools that aid accurate weather forecasting in support of our summer aviation operations.
The first trip was a day trip for four expeditioners to Browning Peninsula south of Casey, to repair one AWS at Haupt Nunataks and another at Browning itself. As we arrived at each of the AWS, we jumped into action under the guidance of our Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) technician Dan Mac, lowering the stations to the ground and replacing all the defective components. Once repairs were completed, each AWS was re-erected and put through some tests to make sure everything was working okay. This first trip turned out to be a bit of a ‘shakedown’ for our next AWS deep field maintenance mission to Law Dome.
Just last week, we undertook this second deep field traverse to Law Dome - 133km from station at an altitude of almost 1400 metres, where there is nothing but snow for as far as the eye can see. Upon arrival, our team of nine expeditioners jumped into action, this time setting up camp under the watchful eye of Field Training Officer Maddie and then moving on to the AWS maintenance under the direction of Dan Mac. With another solid team effort, the maintenance work was swiftly completed (as well as a half-built igloo!). All in all, a smooth, successful and fun trip thanks to a great team of good people and good friends.
- Scott Crabbe (2021 Casey winter diesel mechanic)
