Because of Jim Scanlon’s efforts and the cooperation of the Maggiorino Borgatello Museum, over 500,000 weather observations from the Southern Hemisphere will be added to NOAA's world database for everyone’s use.
Chile
The upper slopes of the Orsono Volcano in Chile are almost entirely covered in glaciers despite its very modest altitude and latitude. Photo courtesy Virgínia Carrazzone via SXC
Chile: Rescue at the Bottom of the World
IEDRO, with funding from NOAA, has rescued over 500,000 weather observations stored in a museum near the southern tip of South America. The Maggiorino Borgatello Museum, a Salesian Society museum of natural history and pre-Hispanic ethnic groups, has been archiving these data for the past 125 years. The museum is in Punta Arenas, Chile, the world’s southernmost city, about 100 miles from Antarctica.
In February, 2005, Jim Scanlon, a retired juvenile probation officer, citizen scientist and, to those who knew him, “a compassionate gentleman,” contacted IEDRO’s Executive Director, Dr. Rick Crouthamel. Rick had been working for many years with the museum and had found a treasure trove of old weather and climate observations dating back to the 1870s. These data were taken at a local Catholic school by the teaching priests. The data extended back about 100 years earlier than data possessed by the Chilean National Meteorological Service.
IEDRO, as a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was asked by the museum to help. Through a program called the Climate Data Modernization Program, funded by NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), IEDRO’s Executive Director, with the help of the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS), took over supporting the work Jim had started. An agreement was made between the museum and IEDRO which provides for the digital imaging of about 500,000 surface weather observations, their digitization and addition of these observations to the world database.
The data are unique because the instruments that recorded the parameter values (barometers, thermometers, wind speed indicators) all reside as exhibits within the museum. This gives users of these old data a good idea of the accuracy of the measurements.
Because of Mr. Scanlon’s efforts and the cooperation of the museum, over 500,000 weather observations from the Southern Hemisphere were rescued, to the benefit of all humanity.
It was with great sadness that IEDRO learned that Jim Scanlon was killed in an auto accident three months after turning his effort over to IEDRO and the U.S. National Weather Service. IEDRO is determined to complete the job in Jim’s name.
Population: 16,454,143
Capital: Santiago
Ethnic groups: White and White-Amerindian, Mapuche, other indigenous groups
Language: Spanish (official), Mapudungun, German, English
Religion: Roman Catholic, Evangelical, Jehovah’s Witness, other Christian, other
Median age: 31.1
Life expectancy: 77.15 years
GDP per capita: $15,400/year
Industries: Copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron and steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement, and textiles
Economy: Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade and a reputation for strong financial institutions and sound policy that have given it the strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. Exports account for 40% of GDP, with commodities making up some three-quarters of total exports. Copper alone provides one-third of government revenue.
Reference: CIA World Factbook: Chile