Lauder's clear skies are a key element in the search for solutions to the mysteries of climate change.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) station is in a strategic location and its work is a vital cog in global climate research.
Chief Scientist (atmosphere) for Niwa, Murray Poulter said the quality of work carried out by Lauder staff was high and had gained the station an international reputation.
"Lauder is part of the local community but it's also an important part of the national and international research network. The site is a key one. It's so close to the 45deg latitude. From an optical point of view, it's ideal.
"There's no radio interference, light pollution is low, the air is clean and there's good clear skies much of the time."
Lauder housed sophisticated instruments to measure the atmosphere - "state of the art" equipment, some of which had been funded and installed by overseas interests.
"That's a further testament to the work done by the staff at Lauder, the fact that they are entrusted to use these multimillion-dollar instruments."
Lauder staff had also proved innovative in designing and building instruments and some of that equipment was now used by scientists overseas.
Lauder is one of five primary sites around the world for the international Network for Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change. Its purpose is to observe and understand the physical and chemical state of the atmosphere and the impact of changes on global climate.
"As climate becomes more of a pressing issue, the work Lauder does is invaluable. In the next 50 years this work will only become more important," Dr Poulter said.
It is also part of a international monitoring network, one of 15 sites around the world and the only one monitoring from the middle latitudes of the southern hemisphere.
The network measures upper air climate variables, such as temperature and water vapour.
This will give a fingerprint of changes in climate which can be used to predict climate change.
Looking to the future, Dr Poulter said there would be new problems for the Lauder scientists to address.
"It will continue to address contemporary science problems and do the science that is relevant for the day."
Principal Niwa scientist for radiation Richard McKenzie started work at the station in 1979.
It was always a stimulating working environment, as the station hosted so many overseas scientists.
"We get a lot of students who do part of their study here, especially from Europe. There's several students doing their full PhD studies here and others who come for a few weeks or a month," he said.
"Lauder's very important in the global context."
The station does consultancy work for Government-funded research and also consultation work for national and overseas clients.
Looking back
As the atmospheric problems facing mankind have changed. so has the role of Lauder.
An important milestone for science in New Zealand was in 1957, International Geophysical Year, when the then Department of Scientific and Industrial Research established an upper atmosphere research base near Invercargill, at the instigation of R.S. (Bob) Unwin, a physicist with a scientific background in wartime radar development.
The blue skies research focused on efforts to understand the aurora australis (Southern Lights), and the associated radio aurora, a process where radar waves are backscattered (reflected) from an electrically charged region 100km above the Earth, at high latitudes.
In 1960, as an extension of this programme, a base was established at Lauder to take advantage of the clear skies for observations of the aurora. The radars continued to operate remotely, and were serviced from the Lauder base. Bob Unwin was the first officer in charge.
The data was important not only from a purely scientific viewpoint, but also because it reflected changes in the ionosphere, an electrically charged region above the Earth.
This region is responsible for the reflection of high frequency radio waves, which, before the advent of satellites, provided global communications, along with submarine cables.
Disruptions of the ionosphere took place during magnetic storms, heralded by solar flares.
Knowledge of the magnetic field was also important for navigation purposes, so New Zealand had an international obligation to contribute data from ionospheric and magnetic research to a global database.
Instruments at Lauder included spectrographs and photometers, used to study the emissions from various gases in the upper atmosphere, and all-sky cameras.
The instruments were initially housed in a converted GMC truck known as the Dog Box. As well as the optical equipment, instruments were set up to measure changes in the magnetic field, and to measure electrical currents in the Earth that flowed during magnetic storms.
A radio receiver also recorded very low frequency (VLF) radio waves, known as whistlers because of the decreasing pitch audio signal received, created by charged particles from the sun spiralling down the Earth's magnetic field lines.
Applied Science
Niwa has become much more commercially oriented in recent years, with increased emphasis on services for industry and other research organisations.
For example, several spectrometer systems to measure ultra violet radiation (UV), developed at Lauder, have been sold to international clients, such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States, and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Niwa has ongoing contracts for their maintenance.
Niwa now has stronger interactions with the health sector, addressing issues associated with too much UV in summer, or too little in winter.
Lauder performs calibrations of radiation sensors for Niwa and other commercial clients including overseas manufacturers and research agencies. It is moving towards doing more computer-based modelling, to complement the measurement programmes it has been performing for the last 50 years.
- Historical information and additional reporting by Niwa.
Setting the atmosphere
• Lauder station, 35km from Alexandra.
• Set up by Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in 1961.
• Specialises in measuring CFCs, ozone, UV levels, greenhouse gases.
• Staff: 16.
• Houses world-class equipment, some installed by overseas interests.
• Clear skies, clean air, and isolation good for measuring atmosphere.
• Extreme climate - hot in summer, cold in winter, dry all year.
• Work well known throughout the international research community.
• Celebrates 50th anniversary on April 28 and 29.
