Visit to Graciosa Azores by MSI scientists - Lease signed for the radar site

By: miker on: Tue., Jan. 29, 2013 02:46 PM EST (10494 Reads)

Drs. Simon Shepherd (Dartmouth College) and Raymond Greenwald (Virginia Tech) are making a visit to the island of Graciosa in the Azores to advance the plan for building the fourth and final pair of SuperDARN MSI radars. They are meeting with the mayor of Santa Cruz Da Graciosa, Sen. José Ramos Aguiar, and local contractors. Simon reports:

Feb 2: 'We had a very pleasant ceremony this morning at the future site of the Graciosa SuperDARN radars. It is perhaps one of the most spectacular sites we have built radars. Brief presentations were given by Luis Santos (Direcção Regional da Ciência, Tecnologia e Comunicações) and myself before signing the lease. A final presentation was given by the Secretary of the President of the Azores. The ceremony was attended by many citizens including the mayor of Santa Cruz Da Graciosa and several of the press.' Click here to see photos of the signing ceremony. Also see: http://www.rtp.pt/icmblogs/rtp/graciosa/?k=SuperDarn-na-Graciosa.rtp&post=43318

SuperDARN radars in the Azores will extend the coverage provided by the mid-latitude MSI radar chain across the Atlantic and into the European sector. Builds have been completed in Kansas (2009), Oregon (2010) and Alaska (2012).

The MSI team acknowledges the generous assistance provided by the Regional Government of the Azores (RGA), in particular the involvement of Mr. Luis Santos. The team also thanks Mr. Rafael A. Perez, Principal Officer to the Azores (Consulate of the United States) for coordinating activities and providing invaluable guidance.

Information about the Azores, Graciosa island and Santa Cruz da Graciosa

The Azores (population 250,000) became an Autonomous Region of Portugal in 1976.

Graciosa Island is the northernmost of the Central Group of islands in the Azores. It is approximately 10 km x 7 km in area.

Graciosa was explored by Portuguese navigators during the first quarter of the 15th Century.

The island is volcanic and its geography is dominated by a 1.6 km wide central caldera.

The population of the island is just less than 5,000 and all inhabitants are considered citizens of the largest town, Santa Cruz da Graciosa.

For more information about Graciosa Island see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graciosa

For information about Santa Cruz da Garciosa see

http://en.db-city.com/Portugal

~~Azores~~Santa-Cruz-Da-Graciosa

The construction of the mid-latitude chain of SuperDARN radars is supported by the National Science Foundation under the Mid-Sized Infrastructure (MSI) program.

from left to right:

Bruno Pacheco – Regional Director for public works, technology and
communications

Simon Shepherd - Dartmouth College P.I.

Victor Fraga - Regional secretary of tourism and transports

Anabela Isidoro - Regional director of forest resources

Manuel Santos – Mayor of Santa Cruz of Graciosa

photos courtesy of the SRTT of Azores Government