earth science

MS Polarfront

MS Polarfront is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand MS Polarfront rather than just read about it. In short: MS Polarfront was a Norwegian weather ship located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It was the last remaining weather ship in the world, maintained by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

Key takeaways

MS Polarfront belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect MS Polarfront to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of MS Polarfront from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

MS Polarfront was a Norwegian weather ship located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It was the last remaining weather ship in the world, maintained by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. A weather ship is a ship stationed in mid-ocean to make meteorological observations for weather forecasting. Since the 1960s this role has been largely superseded by satellites, long-range aircraft and weather buoys. MS Polarfront was known as weather station M ("Mike"), and was located at 66°N, 02°E. Standard meteorological observations were performed on an hourly basis from the beginning of the 1960s. On 27 February 2009, the cancellation of the station was announced. MS Polarfront was removed from service on 1 January 2010.

Since 28 June 2017, MS Polarfront has been owned and operated by the French shipping company Latitude Blanche for expedition purposes in high latitudes.

History of station M The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) took the responsibility to operate an international network of ocean weather stations in the north Atlantic. The network was established in 1948 and consisted of 13 stations, including station M. The need for weather ships from civil aviation decreased gradually while meteorological societies still needed observations from the oceans. In 1974 the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) took responsibility for the four remaining stations. The international agreement about weather ships was ended in 1990. The United Kingdom and Norway continued the operation of one station each, station L ("Lima"), west of Scotland, and station M, in the Norwegian Sea. Station L was ended in the middle of the 1990s. Thus station M was the only one still remaining. The first two weather ships to man station M were Polarfront I and Polarfront II. The Norwegian authorities were the ship owners. The ships were rebuilt Royal Navy corvettes (HMS Saxifrage and HMS Bryony). They served until 1974 and 1976, respectively. In 1974 the Norwegian state made an agreement with the shipping company Misje Offshore Marine AS in Bergen to hire a new and modern ship, which was given the name Polarfront. For several years the ship alternated with the Dutch weather ship Cumulus to staff station M. From 1986 on Polarfront staffed station M alone. Each month Polarfront left the station for one to two days to take on a new crew and new supplies. Once a year, usually in early October, the ship stayed in its home port for a week to carry out maintenance.

References

External links yr.no: Observations and forecasts from Polarfront (station Mike) Norwegian Meteorological Institute - Station "Mike" Latitude Blanche POLARFRONT (Exhibition Ship) Registered in France - Vessel details, Current position and Voyage information - IMO 7608708, MMSI 228092600, Call Sign FJYK | AIS Marine Traffic

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with MS Polarfront

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what MS Polarfront claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to MS Polarfront before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about MS Polarfront ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of MS Polarfront

In research: MS Polarfront appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses MS Polarfront in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: MS Polarfront is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1976 ships, IMO numbers, Meteorological data and networks, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for MS Polarfront outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study MS Polarfront in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what MS Polarfront means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain MS Polarfront out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is MS Polarfront in simple terms?

MS Polarfront was a Norwegian weather ship located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It was the last remaining weather ship in the world, maintained by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

Why does MS Polarfront matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study MS Polarfront?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on MS Polarfront.