Antarctic Meteorological Research Center

The Antarctic Meteorological Research Center (AMRC) is an Antarctic research program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that is based out of the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) at the University of Wisconsin. The AMRC was founded as a link between the UW-Madison automatic weather station (AWS) project and the Man computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS) project, also at UW-Madison.^[1]

The need for satellite imagery from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites over the Antarctic led to the formation of the AMRC. Today, the AMRC continues to create Antarctic satellite composites and conduct research with those composites and other observational data sets, such as those from UW-Madison’s AWS program. In addition, the AMRC also collects, distributes, and archives Antarctic data, and promotes Antarctic science through educational outreach activities. The AMRC is one of the primary archives of meteorological data from Antarctica and its surrounding geographic areas.^[1]

The Antarctic Meteorological Forecast Center (AMFC) at UW-Madison was devised during the same time as the founding of the AMRC as a provider of weather forecasts for research vessels operating in the vicinity of Antarctica. After several years of operation at UW-Madison, the National Science Foundation ended this program and transferred the AMFC’s responsibilities to the United States Naval Warfare System Center (SPAWAR) Office of Polar Programs.^[1]