Monday, May 16, 2011

Another view on How I Ended This Summersdf

Meteorologist Dr Liz Bentley explains why her professional and personal curiosity are piqued by this excellent film

British meteorologists don't really get posted to weather stations as remote as the one in this excellent film, set on an island in the Arctic ocean. The two Russian meteorologists who work there have to carry guns to defend themselves against polar bear attacks. The most dangerous thing we ever have to worry about is cows and sheep.

There's not much dialogue, so it's hard to tell exactly what they're doing there; they seem to be using manual instruments to verify weather readings provided by automated equipment. The instruments are fairly standard, if old-fashioned. They have a Stevenson screen, which is a white slatted box that's used to protect equipment such as thermometers and hydrometers.

There's a lot of tension between the two meteorologists. One, Sergei, is very experienced; the other, Pavel, is on a student placement. Sergei thinks Pavel isn't taking the work seriously enough: he falls asleep once and fails to take the hourly readings. Sergei is passionate about his work. His family have been measuring weather on the island since 1935. I hadn't heard of anything quite like that before, but I do recognise Sergei's pride in doing a good job.

British weather stations are fully automatic now, so we don't have anyone posted for months on end. But someone has to visit each station every few months to check the instruments are working. One of our most remote stations is on top of the Cairngorms; if the weather changes, you could be stuck for a good few days.

One of the best things about the film is its use of time-lapse photography. You get stunning shots of the landscape and the weather, from huge skyscapes to sunsets, ice floes and a gathering storm. I loved all that, from a professional point of view. But anyone with even a passing interest in the outdoors would love it, too.

? Dr Liz Bentley is head of the Royal Meteorological Society's Weather Club; theweatherclub.co.uk. How I Ended This Summer is out now.


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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/may/15/another-view-how-i-ended-this-summer

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