New Life for Canada's Northernmost Weather Stations
Coastal recently won a contract with NASITTUQ to upgrade weather stations near the end of their life at the “Dew Line Sites” in the Northernmost region of Canada.
Seattle, WA, August 8, 2007
| Coastal recently won a contract with NASITTUQ to upgrade the weather stations at the “Dew Line Sites”. The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the North Coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The massive construction project employed over 25,000 people. The line consisted of sixty-three stations stretching from Alaska to Baffin Island, covering almost 10,000 km. The project was finished in 1957 and was considered an engineering marvel. The next year, the line became a cornerstone of the new NORAD organization of joint continental air defense. The DEW Line was upgraded with fifteen new FPS-117 phased-array radars between 1985 and 1994, and re-named the North Warning Line. |  The Dew Line Site is Seen from the Helicopter Window |
There are weather stations at many of the sites but they are nearing the end of their life cycle. The sites are about as far North as you can get and still be on land. They are remote, cold, ice-prone and accessible only during the summer.
Coastal was awarded the contract to begin upgrading the weather stations by first developing an interface between a new wind monitor and the older electronics. The interface is also a component that can lead to an upgrade of the entire system to match systems fielded either by NAV CANADA, the US Air Force or the FAA.
| One of Coastal’s field engineers, Dan Smith recently traveled to Labrador to install a first article unit “It held a desolate type of beauty” Dan remarked, “as the station is the only structure around it also seems to attract native animals – Caribou and Polar Bears”. Dan also reported that on the 2,000 ft. hill the weather changed about every 10 minutes, increasing the difficulty of installation and the need for very accurate data. Coastal designed lightning protection into the interface, even though lightning is rare or non-existent that far north. It turned out to be a good decision - when Dan was at the site a huge bolt of lightning struck a near-by hill, the only lightning anyone there could recall seeing! |
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For More Information Contact:
Patrick Kelly
Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Coastal Environmental Systems
p.206-682-6048 / 800-488-8291
f. 206-682-5658