ABSTRACT
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has participated in the Indian Antarctic Expedition since 1981. During third expedition, a permanent scientific station, Dakshin Gangotri (69° 59′ 23″ S, 11° 56′ 26″ E), was established in 1983 in the Lazarev Sea area of Queen Maud's Land and functioned there until 1989. Thereafter, the second Indian Antarctic Station, Maitri (70° 45′ 57″ S, 11° 44′ 09″ E), was established in 1989 in the Schirmacher Oasis of East Antarctica. Since establishment of these observatories, all meteorological observations such as pressure, temperature, wind speed and direction, total global solar radiation, surface ozone, radiometersonde, ozonesonde, and so on have been taken at Dakshin Gangotri (WMO station index No. 89510) and Maitri (WMO station index No. 89514). This effort of the IMD has contributed to international efforts to understand the meteorology and climate of Antarctica.
So far more than 60 IMD personnel have participated in Indian Antarctic Expeditions and contributed to the creation of databases of meteorological parameters for study in the fields of meteorology, ozone, and radiation. Continuous surface weather observation at Maitri is providing input for understanding the variation in the Antarctic atmospheric circulation patterns that have influence over the global climate. Regular ozone measurements started at Dakshin Gangotri and continued at Maitri have augmented international efforts for the study of the ozone-hole phenomenon over Antarctica and the effect of depletion of ozone on global climate change.
In this chapter, 3-hourly daily synoptic data recorded at Dakshin Gangotri (1984–1989) and Maitri for the years 1990 to 2005 has been used for computation of daily and monthly means of temperature, wind, pressure, and cloudiness, and the results are discussed. The result of ozone measurements including surface ozone and vertical ozone profiles is discussed. The climate of Schirmacher Oasis is believed to be typical of much of the coast of East Antarctica, whereas the Dakshin Gangotri climate is typical of an Antarctic coastal station situated on ice shelves. The stations are affected by cyclonic activity and katabatic winds.
