Kaitlyn O’Brien

What’s the work that you do?

I work seasonally at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station during the Austral summer to support aircraft operations, maintain an ongoing 69-year climatological record, and provide forecasts for the station community. Our primary mission is to support flight operations and take hourly METAR observations. If the weather is changing rapidly, sometimes observations are transmitted every 15 minutes or less. It’s critical for flight crews to have frequently updated surface observations for safe take-offs and landings.
Weather records at the South Pole began in January 1957. We continue to add to the dataset and work to maintain high quality data for research groups all over the world. We also provide decision support and produce a daily short term forecast for the station community. Twice a day, the team launches a weather balloon! All of the data collected gets transmitted globally so it can be incorporated into weather models. The better the data collection, the better the model output, which ultimately leads to an improved forecast.

What keeps you going?

Service— I love helping people and providing information that is essential to make critical decisions. Oftentimes pilots transiting Antarctica have very limited weather information. Using a combination of satellite imagery, forecast models, and current observations, we try to paint an accurate picture of anticipated weather conditions and ensure aircrews can make safe and informed decisions.

What’s your message to the world?

It’s never too late to pursue your passion. Sometimes standing in the crossroads is where you find enormous opportunities for growth, and if you have the courage to chase your dreams and silence those pesky doubts, the rewards can be compounding. Don’t give up!