Observation of Atmosphere in the Atmospheric Observatory of Austral Patagonia, Río Gallegos, Argentina

J.O. SALVADOR; E.A. WOLFRAM; LIDIA A. OTERO; PABLO R. RISTORI; JUAN PALLOTA; M.M. RAPONI; EZEQUIEL PAWELKO; M. G. NICORA,; D’ELIA RAUL

Buenos Aires

Workshop; 7th IAGA/ICMA/CAWSES Workshop on “Long-Term Changes and Trends in the Atmosphere”; 2012

  Since spring 2005 the Lidar Division of CEILAP (Laser and Application Research Center), joined with French and Japanese researchers has been monitoring atmospheric parameters using lidar technologies in southern most continental part of South America. The Atmospheric Observatory of Southern Patagonia (OAPA) is a remote sensing site located near the Río Gallegos city in South Patagonia (51º 55’S, 69º 14’W), in subpolar region affected by the polar vortex. It is a convenient monitoring site of the atmosphere in the southern hemisphere especially for ozone studies. In this site is operative a differential absorption lidar instrument (DIAL) to measure ozone and temperature vertical profiles in the stratosphere and lower mesosphere. Also there are other kinds of instruments as a tropospheric Rayleigh lidar that coming soon will be installed to sense volcanic ash emission, a Millimeter Microwave Radiometer belonged to Nagoya University which one can measured ozone profile in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere with high temporal resolution. A remote sensing passive station formed by different kinds of radiometers takes measurements of daily solar flux in the Visible and UV region and, together lidar instruments provide a complete observation of the atmosphere. These radiometers belong to different international networks like NDACC, GALION/WMO, AERONET/ NASA and SolRad/NASA belong others. The World Wide Lightning Location Network has a site in the Observatory for lightning data detection, working with more than 50 sensors around the globe to detect spherical activity.