Editor’s note: Mike Ritsche, technical operations manager for the ARM Mobile Facility 2, sent this update in mid-December.

After nine months at sea aboard the Horizon Spirit, the AMF2 reached land for an extended stay at the Station for Measuring Forest Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations (SMEAR II) in Hyytiala, Finland. This nine-month, land-based deployment is in support of the Biogenic Aerosols-Effects on Clouds and Climate (BAECC) project. The deployment begins February 1, 2014, and continues through mid-September 2014.

AMF2 left sunny, balmy California on November 8 and arrived at the SMEAR II site on December 11. Nicki Hickmon (AMF2 manager) and Pat Dowell (AMF2 lead technician) were on site to greet the nine containers that comprise the AMF2, as well as to lead the effort in preparing them for the installation that begins in January.

Because Finland is quite a bit north, it is winter and nearing the shortest day of the year. The work day begins early, but is not at all bright. Early morning and late afternoon tasks are challenging to the work crew due to the sun being so low in the sky. Fortunately, ample lighting provided by the local staff allowed us to place the equipment containers without a hitch.

As the day progressed and lighting improved, we could actually see one another—not just the reflectors of safety vests bobbing up and down as people moved around. Temperatures hovered around freezing most of the time, leading to some slick conditions, and it was overcast the entire time. Nicki said she missed seeing the sun more than anything on this trip. After about a week without seeing the sun, she was beginning to go a little stir crazy and was excited to see the sun finally reveal itself on the last day. Hurray!

Because this deployment occurs in a forest, the trees surrounding us are aesthetically pleasing but are proving to be an impediment for the radars. To mitigate this situation, we decided to stack the SACR container on top of another container which allows the radar to scan over the trees much more effectively. This created some challenges for placing and securing the containers. In previous deployments, we just set them down and leveled them. Here we needed to set down the lowest level of three containers, secure them together to create a solid base, and then set the SACR container on top and secure it to the middle container.

Lastly, we ran power cables and turned on the heat so when we return for the full installation we have somewhere to warm our cold hands and feet. At this point, Nicki and Pat have returned to the U.S., leaving the AMF2 in the capable hands of the SMEAR II site personnel for the time being. Everyone on the AMF2 staff is looking forward to the holiday break and spending time with family before returning for the big push of install.

For the record, no one witnessed anyone resembling Santa Claus, but there were reindeer sightings and a few straw caricatures representing the Yule Goat, a common Christmas decoration found in Scandinavian countries.

Mike Ritsche