Argentina's national weather service
National Weather Service
|
|
SMN headquarters in Buenos Aires
|
|
Formed
| October 4, 1872
; 151 years ago
(
1872-10-04
)
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Jurisdiction
|
Argentina
|
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Headquarters
| Av. Dorrego 4019,
Buenos Aires
|
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Agency executive
| - Alejandro de la Torre, Director
|
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Parent agency
| Ministry of Defense
|
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Website
| smn.gob.ar
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[1]
|
The
National Weather Service
(
Spanish
:
Servicio Meteorologico Nacional
) is an Argentine
government agency
under the
Ministry of Defense
that is tasked with observing, understanding, and predicting the weather and climate in Argentina and its surrounding waters.
[2]
It provides weather forecasts, radar images, ozone, temperature and rainfall graphs, and satellite images.
[3]
The purpose of these tasks is to contribute to protection of its inhabitants, sustainable economic development and to provide representation of Argentina to international meteorological organizations.
[2]
Founded on 4 October 1872 by Federal law Nº559 during the presidency of
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
, the organisation was the first meteorological organisation in South America and the third one in the world, after Hungary and the United States which were created in 1870 and 1871 respectively.
[1]
It became a member of the
World Meteorological Organization
on 2 January 1951. Throughout its history, the organisation was dependent under different government ministries until in 2007 when it is currently under the Ministry of Defense.
[1]
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The organisation was founded on 4 October 1872 by Federal law Nº559 during the presidency of
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
under the name (
Spanish
:
Oficina Meteorologica Argentina
) or OMA for short with Dr.
Benjamin Apthorp Gould
as its first director.
[1]
[4]
This made it the first meteorological organisation in South America and the third one in the world, after Hungary and the United States which were created in 1870 and 1871 respectively.
[1]
The OMA was under the Ministry of Justice, Cult and Public Instruction (
Spanish
:
Ministerio de Justicia, Culto e Instruccion Publica
).
[1]
The first national network of meteorological stations and geomagnetic observations was established in 1873.
[4]
Later on that year from 2 September to 16 September, the OMA attended the International Meteorological Congress in
Vienna
,
Austria-Hungary
.
[4]
The International Meteorological Congress in 1873 agreed for the establishment of the
International Meteorological Organization
.
[5]
The first solar radiation observations were made in 1874 in
Cordoba
.
[4]
In 1875, Argentina made the first international exchange of meteorological data with neighbouring Chile.
[4]
In 1898, Federal law Nº3727 was passed by the
Argentine National Congress
which transferred the OMA to Ministry of Agriculture (
Spanish
:
Ministerio de Agricultura de la Nacion
).
[1]
[6]
In June 1924, the OMA was renamed to (
Spanish
:
Direccion Meteorologica
) until September 1927 when it was changed to (
Spanish
:
Direccion de Meteorologia
).
[1]
Law Nº12252 was passed on 28 September 1935 kept the organisation still under the agriculture ministry but it was renamed to (
Spanish
:
Direccion de Meteorologia, Geofisica e Hidrologia
).
[1]
The current name of the organization, Servicio Meteorologico Nacional (SMN) was created on 5 May 1945 when Decree Nº10131 was passed, placing SMN under the Secretary of Aeronautics (
Spanish
:
Secretaria de Aeronautica
).
[1]
This was later reinforced by law when the Argentine Congress passed Law Nº12945 on 29 January 1947 that officially established the name and creation of it.
[1]
On 9 March 1950, SMN was transferred to the Ministerio de Asuntos Tecnicos de la Nacion according to Decree Nº5197 until in 22 June 1954 when Decree Nº12248 reverted SMN to being back under the Ministry of Agriculture, under the new name (
Spanish
:
Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia de la Nacion
).
[1]
SMN became a member of the
World Meteorological Organization
on 2 January 1951.
[7]
From 7 May 1957 until October 1966, SMN was under the Ministry of Aeronuatics (
Spanish
:
Ministerio de Aeronautica de la Nacion
).
[1]
Later on, during the
coup
by
Juan Carlos Ongania
, SMN was directly under the
Argentine Air Force
for 40 years until 1 January 2007 when Decree Nº1689 finally transferred it back into civilian hands.
[1]
Finally, Decree Nº1432 in 2007 made the organisation a decentralised one that was under the Ministry of Defense, giving it the ability to have its own control over its finances, its own legal status, and ability to act in both the private and public fields.
[1]
List of directors
[
edit
]
Name
[1]
|
Period
[1]
|
Benjamin A. Gould
|
1872?1884
|
Gualterio Davis
|
1885?1915
|
Jorge Otis Wiggin
|
1915?1924
|
Federico Burmeister
|
1924?1926
|
Enrique G. Plate
|
1926?1929
|
Roberto C. Mossman
|
1929?1930
|
Martin Gil
|
1930?1932
|
Alfredo G. Galmarini
|
1932?1949
|
Hugo Civati Bernasconi
|
1949?1950
|
Carlos Nunez Monasterio
|
1950?1956
|
Rolando V. Garcia
|
1956?1958
|
Francisco Lucio Fernandez
|
1958?1966
|
Torcuato de Alvear
|
1966?1967
|
Benigno Hector Andrada
|
1967?1970
|
Caros A. Natalio Grasselli
|
1971?1972
|
Reynaldo A. Bertinotti
|
1972?1973
|
Jose E. Echeveste
|
1974?1982
|
Salvador Alaimo
|
1983?1993
|
Ramon A. Sonzini
|
1993?2000
|
Ricardo A. Grunert
|
2001?2004
|
Miguel Angel Rabiolo
|
2004?2007
|
Hector H. Ciappesoni
|
2007?2014
|
Celeste Saulo
|
2014?present
|
Weather stations
[
edit
]
Currently, SMN has 125 weather stations that extended across both Argentina and Antarctica.
[8]
They also include a network of observatories that measure atmospheric parameters in addition to the meteorological parameters such as ultraviolet radiation, solar radiation, and ozone levels.
[8]
The first weather station in Antarctica was in 1904 when an observatory that both measured meteorological and geomagnetic parameters was open on
Orcadas Base
on
Laurie Island
in the
South Orkney Islands
(
Spanish
:
Orcadas del Sur
).
[8]
Currently, SMN maintains 6 synoptic weather stations in Antarctica on the Antarctic bases operated by Argentina (
Carlini Base
,
San Martin Base
,
Belgrano II Base
,
Esperanza Base
,
Marambio Base
, and
Orcadas Base
).
[8]
Prevenir project and how AI is part of it
[
edit
]
The Prevenir project in Argentina, a collaborative effort between Argentine and Japanese entities, utilizes AI and other methodologies to develop an early warning system for urban floods. Focused initially on vulnerable areas in Buenos Aires and Cordoba, it pioneers advanced forecasting techniques in the region.
[9]
Led by researchers like Juan Jose Ruiz, Prevenir's approach resembles Google's tool on a smaller scale, with a focus on precipitation dynamics. Despite less extensive data availability compared to international counterparts, Argentine models leverage radar-provided information for future precipitation system predictions.
[9]
Apart from enhancing flood forecasts and alerts, Prevenir aims to expand observation networks and raise public awareness about risk prevention. Leveraging high-performance supercomputers like Clementina XXI and Fugaku, the project marks a significant step towards more effective disaster management in Argentina and potentially worldwide.
[9]
Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre
[
edit
]
There are 9
Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres
(VAAC for short) around the world that are responsible for monitoring
volcanic ash
to provide critical information and maintain aviation safety.
[10]
SMN is responsible for the Buenos Aires VAAC, which covers all areas from longitudes 90
o
W to 10
o
W and latitudes 10
o
S to 90
o
S.
[11]
VAACs are designated regional meteorological centres that are tasked with observing the movement of volcanic ash into the atmosphere during volcanic eruptions.
[12]
The functions and responsibilities of the Buenos Aires VAAC are listed below:
[12]
- Examine data from
geostationary
and
polar orbit
satellites to detect the existence and extent of any volcanic ash in the atmosphere.
[12]
- Create computer simulations to model the trajectory of volcanic ash to predict the movement of ash clouds when the volcanic ash has been detected.
[12]
- Issue advisory information with respect to the extent and forecasted movement of volcanic ash clouds to Meteorological Watch Offices (MWO),
[13]
Area control centres
, and
Flight information service
centres that are service
Flight information regions
affected by the volcanic ash.
[12]
- Issue advisory information with respect to the extent and forecasted movement of volcanic ash clouds to other VAACs under their areas that they cover.
[12]
- Issue advisory information with respect to the extent and forecasted movement of volcanic ash clouds to
World Area Forecast Centres
(WAFC), the relevant regional forecast centres, and international data banks OPMET.
[12]
[14]
- Issue advisory information to meteorological offices, area control centres, flight information regions, and other VAACs when necessary every 6 hours at a minimum until no more volcanic ash clouds can be detected based on satellite data or when no more new notices about volcanic eruptions or when the VAAC does not receive any more new information regarding volcanic ash clouds in the area.
[12]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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