Have you seen pictures of mountain huts covered in ice? Or power lines wrapped in a thick blanket of snow and ice? What we often associate with winter idyll can cost society dearly. Telemasters, wind turbines and high-voltage lines are installations that often fall victim to what is called “atmospheric icing”. – Human activity is increasingly expanding to the northern regions of the North, where atmospheric icing is a challenge and a safety risk, says the professor at UiT. There is the greatest risk of icing, or atmospheric icing, when there is a lot of wind, volatile air and temperatures below zero degrees, and mountains that are close to the coast. Anticipating icing Last week, the research environment at the University of Tromsø, Narvik department, opened a research station for atmospheric icing. Right in the heart of Northern Norway, about a thousand meters above sea level, on top of Fagernesfjellet. – It is a unique facility. As we understand it, we do not have such an infrastructure in Norway. Professor Muhammad Shakeel Virk is head of the Arctic Technology & Icing Research Group. Photo: University of Tromsø Professor Muhammad Shakeel Virk is head of the research project at the Faculty of Engineering and Technology at UiT. – It is an important problem because it affects the infrastructure, especially in the northern areas. There are surprisingly few researchers working on atmospheric icing in Scandinavia. The research station collects information, such as wind speed and direction, temperature and air pressure. The more unique thing about the station is that it records humidity in the air, in addition to monitoring the size and quantity of the drop. The research station at Fagernesfjellet Photo: Privat But what can the information be used for? – We will study how the ice accumulates on various structures and how we can improve the weather forecast, especially when it comes to icing. The research will contribute to predicting possible ice formations. This means that companies that are currently affected by icing will have an opportunity to take measures in advance. – With us, companies can test equipment under extreme weather conditions. Atmospheric icing affects, among other things, the ski lift, roads and energy distribution. With more knowledge about the phenomenon, it will be possible to make better equipment, which will last longer. – Beautiful weather phenomenon in autumn Rune Skoglund, meteorologist on duty, explains that atmospheric icing primarily occurs on metal. – It is mainly on metal that it happens. You can also get ice on roads and get black ice or blank ice on the roads when it gets very slippery. The meteorologist on duty states that icing can occur almost at any time of the year. – Although it can be slippery, you can have beautiful weather phenomena in autumn. – This can happen almost all year round. It usually happens in autumn and spring. In winter, most places, at least in the north, will receive the precipitation as snow, and then this does not happen. – We do too little, and what we do happens too slowly – Great social significance – A phenomenon that has great social significance, but not many people know how extensive and complex this is. So says former meteorologist and internationally known expert, Svein Fikke. He thinks it is good that a university has established a research station on Fagernesfjellet. – A cloud consisting of water droplets can be supercooled when the temperature is below zero degrees. Then the droplets freeze spontaneously when they hit something. Photo: Private – I think it is very important and interesting that it is a university that establishes such stations. – They will collect a lot of data, which they won’t be able to process right away, but the information will be food for students for many years to come. And for this facility, you don’t need a helicopter. Fikke says that Fagernesfjellet is an ideal location for the station because it is easily accessible. – You can get there by mountain lift and ski lift. And it often freezes there, so you have many episodes of icing during the winter. – There is a power supply, so you can set up a measuring station, which is guaranteed power. Large accumulations of ice on the Kungsliften in Hemavan in Sweden. Photo: Per Arne Hermansson If there is too much snow and ice, it can quickly become so heavy that masts and power lines break down, and it can quickly become expensive. – For example, a power line that falls down costs something to rebuild. But it also costs something in the form of lost power supply to those who should have had that power from the power line.
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– a challenge and security risk – news Nordland
