Trip Report 3-14 February 2011

Edited by Jim Moore with contributions from the Participants

Participants: NCAR: Jim Moore, Jeff Bobka and Scott Ellis; from U. Of Washington: Stacy Brodzik; Texas Tech Univ: Jerry Guynes; from DOE/ARM: Brad Orr, Karen Sonntag and Mike Ritchie, Chuck Long and Sally McFarlane

A number of photographs were taken during the trip. Just a few are included here to highlight the findings. Others will be found on the web site and in future presentations.

In-transit to Maldives 3-5 February

Some folks made the trip to Maldives using the western route through Tokyo and Singapore. One can also travel the eastern route through the US East Coast and the Middle East. Either way you go, it is long trip. An overnight stop somewhere along the way is highly recommended but the trip can be made straight though in about 30 hours total elapsed time over air 11000 miles.

Male 6-8 February

Overview of Work with Maldives Meteorological Service (MMS)

By way of introduction it is important to note several changes in the Maldives government and approval process that will directly impact DYNAMO.

1. The country implemented a new Constitution in 2008 at the same time an open election brought an end to the dictatorship of the past several years. They are still trying to establish smooth operating procedures within the new constitutional framework. 2. The MMS will be the in country host for the DYNAMO Project. The MMS is no longer in a highly ‘favored’ status in the government (in the past regime, 2 brothers of the president ran the MMS). It has to proceed carefully with making requests for concessions related to fees and other considerations as we are requesting in DYNAMO. 3. A mid-term election was held on the day we arrived in the country that resulted in a major change in the parliament and appointed cabinet officials. This has slowed the entire government approval process to a crawl as the new members begin to work in the government. 4. The is on the verge of declaring itself as . This has required the election of a city council and a mayor that did not exist before. This also has added a layer of bureaucracy and approval to all projects requesting access to Addu Atoll. This may add time to our approvals at the local level for DYNAMO work but we also have some strong allies in the area because of our planning activities.

An update was given to the Maldivian Meteorological Service (MMS) on the latest status of the project. This included late information on support for the project and the addition of facilities to the deployment. This impacts the Maldives because the French Falcon plans to operate from airport and there is a possibility of a Colorado State University sounding system being deployed on Hulhule Island at the MMS office.

The most important item is to get the National Planning commission Proposal Questionnaire prepared and submitted to the Government for approval. We have worked on various aspects of the document during the trip with MMS staff.

Mr. Ali Shareef strongly recommended a letter of support be sent to the Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Perhaps it is best to come from US Embassy in Colombo Sri Lanka. It should introduce the project (science, dates, etc), note international collaboration, and describe the close cooperation and support from MMS.

Shareef also suggested preparation of an MOU between MMS and the DYNAMO Project with the purpose of noting general agreement as to cooperation and support from both groups, identify roles and who will help with what areas and note who will pay for components that are part of the project. It should also state that data and findings will be shared with the MMS and the Maldives.

The matter of a waiver of a 5% duty on the full commercial value of anything imported into the country was discussed. We have proposed to request a duty exemption for the entire project. The big challenge here is that the new Maldivian Constitution requires that only the President can grant such a waiver. This will require some preparation and careful handling given the changes in the government noted above.

The Maldives were given an S-band weather radar after the tsunami. It is no longer functional. As part of an outreach activity it would be good to help them bring the radar to operational status, if it is possible. The main problem is that there are no radar engineers or technicians at the MMS. Jeff Bobka and Jerry Guynes looked into the radar and found several issues that may or may not be addressable by visiting DYNAMO staff. A reasonable outreach goal may be to help them with the problems we can address in a reasonable amount of time and provide them with an outline of what is required to fix, operate and maintain the radar for the longer term.

S-band radar near the airport

Business Visas for Project participants

There’s good news and bad news on this item. The bad news is that it appears that payment of this fee ($59 USD) cannot be waived. The good news is that the visa is good for 3 months from the date of entry. This should be sufficient for most folks coming to work. Those involved in set-up and tear down may have to pay twice. The waiver of this fee would likely require some combination of a Presidential signature and a Constitutional amendment.

Ministry of Aviation

We met with officials (Mr. Hussain Jaleel) from the Aviation Department to describe potential aircraft operations in and near the Maldives FIR. This FIR is approximately a rectangle from 68°E to 78°E longitude and from 7°N to 6°S latitude. He indicated there will be no problems with operations in Maldivian air space subject to a briefing to Male ATC within 2 weeks prior to the start of the project. They did caution that operations in Sri Lankan, Australian and Indian air space would require advance approval with the most difficulty coming from India to get permission.

Mr Jalleel requested that the project provide a map of the region of flight operations and proposed flight tracks to the Civil Aviation Department.

Ministry of Communications

A meeting was held with the Ministry of Communications (Mr. Ilyas Ahmed). DYNAMO is required to file a request for frequency assignments for all the various instrumentation and radios that might be used by the project. We provided a complete list of all proposed frequencies to the Communications Authority as prepared for the NPC proposal. The officials seemed very satisfied with the detail of the information and felt this was adequate for the initial application to be prepared. They did note that there are typically fees associated with special frequency allocations. However they said they would request a special exception for this project. We will not know the outcome of the request for a period of at least 45 days.

The South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

The SAARC will have its annual meeting in the Maldives on Addu Atoll this November, 2011. The specific week has yet to be identified and the convention center that will host the meeting has yet to be built. That said, we have been cautioned that there will be no accommodations available at any hotels on Addu Atoll during that week. Both Equator Village and Dhoogas management have offered to help us relocate during that period. All participants should be aware of the relocation that will be required at some point during the month of November. Once the dates are known, we can work on alternative housing

Asia Forwarders Shipping Company

We provided an update to the shipping company likely to be involved in getting our equipment through the Male port in the Maldives and on to Addu Atoll. They did offer some insights in regional shipping challenges. One good thing they have done is instituted a scheduled transport ship from Male to Addu Atoll each week. The ship is large enough to accommodate our containers and the SMART-R radar truck.

They suggested that the SMART-R radar truck consider using a ‘flat track’ for the international shipment. The truck would be driven onto a sheet of steel with tie downs and hooks that allow it to be moved easily from ship to shore by larger port cranes. They also noted that there have been recent reports of ‘irregularities’ in moving shipments through Singapore or Colombo. The shipping agent must be fully involved in tracking the routing.

The shipper said that they must have a letter from the government in advance to waive the 5% duty on the value of all goods imported to the country, even if it is on a temporary basis. There is no international carnet for the Maldives. The packing lists must include the value of each item on the list. This is a standard procedure.

We were told that there is a 15 day ‘free period’ where the containers can be stored at the Male Port awaiting onward shipment. The free period is reduced to 10 days at the Addu ( Regional) Port.

Asia Freight Forwarders has a new agent for the Addu Atoll. His name is Jamal. We met with him several times during the visit and he will be able to support the needs of the project related to off loading and placement of our containers. He also showed us a house that has potential as alternate housing with 5 separate en-suite bedrooms in two stories plus a common area including kitchen and family room area. In addition, he has warehouse storage space that could be rented for the duration of the project.

Hotels in Male

We made an evaluation of the hotels within walking distance of the Male Dhoni Harbor. The hotels included the Kam, Candie, Relax Inn, and Mookai. The ARM folks stayed at the Candie Hotel for 2 nights and it is unacceptable for noise, lack of privacy, cleanliness and comfort. The Kam Hotel is also only marginal with unclean and musty conditions in the rooms we visited. The Relax Inn and Mookai Hotel are acceptable with the Mookai being the most expensive of the four hotels mentioned.

Gan 8-12 February

A Google Earth map showing several key locations on Addu Atoll

S-PolKa Site and Deployment

There are potential problems with the Wharf site for S-PolKa as a lot of local development is planned in the area. Nevertheless, we have set a stake at the preferred site about 134 ft north of the port road and 100 ft from the lagoon. We have spoken to a local contractor about adding height (as much as 10 ft) to an area at least 125 ft x 125 ft plus a ramp up to it. Jeff Bobka will provide drawings to the contractor so he can prepare an accurate estimate. We are hoping to avoid this kind of change. Even without the added fill, it is likely necessary to top dress the site with several inches of sand to help with container leveling and stability.

WHARF SITE

Other support items for S-PolKa are pretty much unchanged from the site visit of 2010. There are challenges related to toilet facilities and trash removal and these are discussed below. High speed communications for the site are discussed below in the communications section.

SMART-Radar Platform and Site

Prepared by: Jerry Guynes, project engineer for the SMART-Radar.

Siting: The SMART-Radar from Texas A&M University will be located at the southern- most end of the Spit Site at Latitude S 0°36.45’, Longitude E 73°05.749’. This location affords the radar the least overall obstruction and became available when the ARM research team decided to relocate their X-Ka band radar system to the north end of the Wharf Site, between SMART-R and S-PolKa. Placing the SMART-Radar at the end of the Spit will require adding and compacting fill material. I have asked Mr. Hussain, Deputy Minister of the Interior (7777376), to provide a bid for the work required to fill the Spit Site road to 10-foot width and to enlarge the southern end in order to allow the SMART-Radar truck room to turn around. During repeated visits to the site, it was discovered that this location is a favorite swimming and fishing spot for the local people in the mid-to-late afternoons and well into the evenings if the fish are biting. Deploying the radar system at the south end of the Spit with the cab of the radar truck facing north will also minimize near field radiation exposure for the locals since the radar is programmed to cut power to the transmitter during cab transect. If necessary, the cab-blanking sector can be expanded to encompass the full width of the road and nearby beach areas. We will also bring rolled plastic fencing material in order to construct a temporary fence to discourage foot traffic from venturing beyond the cab of the vehicle to the end of the Spit. Mr. Hussain will also post warning signage at the end of the Spit road and into the water, discouraging the mooring of fishing boats in the area. Internet Access: Internet access for the SMART-Radar will be provided either by direct closed microwave link to the S-PolKa radar or by buried fiber optic cable and a conventional fiber to 100Base-T switch, which the local telephone company can provide. Given the current scanning strategy, the radar will be sending approximately 25MB of data, which includes both Sigmet raw files and low- resolution GIF images, to S-PolKa every 10 minutes. The S-PolKa radar group will provide the hardware for the microwave link to the SMART-Radar and/or advise otherwise after evaluation of their equipment. Fuel: Diesel fuel delivery is available to the site from STO in Gan, however we will need to arrange for regular delivery and payment. We will transfer fuel to the radar tank from the two vehicle tanks via the onboard electric fuel pump. Total fuel capacity of the three tanks combined is 165 gallons and the radar will be running continuously. At this rate, fuel delivery will need to be set on a weekly basis. However, we should bring extra 10-gallon diesel fuel containers to have on hand for emergency refueling. In addition, the generator will need to have an oil change performed at least every two weeks of running time. We will need to bring enough generator oil and filters for the duration of the project, however oil is also available for purchase locally. We will also need to bring several 10-gallon containers in order to store the used oil in preparation for disposal.

Shipping The Vehicle: Ideally, it would be convenient if SMART-R could be shipped on the same vessel outbound from the U.S. as the S-PolKa radar system. I will be contacting Mr. Kerry Slaven at NCAR to learn of his shipping arrangements for S-PolKa and to try and coordinate shipping of the SMART-Radar accordingly. Tentatively, the radar must ship from the U.S. in early June in order to arrive Gan for setup in August. The SMART-Radar will be shipped on a standard flat and will be off-loaded at the Gan port by Citybiz Holdings Private Limited, by 25-ton crane. Citybiz will work to clear all paperwork, customs, etc. and we were reminded to put our international shipping agent in contact with Citybiz once our arrangements are finalized. Citybiz will also coordinate with the Male agent, Asia Forwarding, for arrival to Gan. Once the vehicle reaches the Gan port, arrangements must be made to remove the vehicle from the dock area within 10 days of arrival. Local Transportation: It will be necessary for SMART-Radar personnel to have transportation to the site since the radar truck will remain at the site for the duration of the project. Scooter rental is available; otherwise local drivers will be utilized in order to simplify vehicle insurance and liability requirements. Discussions between the research groups are ongoing to decide whether rental vehicles can be shared, etc. Local Housing: Housing for SMART-Radar personnel will need to be arranged. Both The Equator Village and the Dhoogas Inn have scheduling conflicts at various times throughout the DYNAMO Project. Several houses and/or rooms in the local area will be available for rental and the group will need to coordinate arrivals/departures accordingly. Further discussions will be necessary before the final housing solution is resolved. Other: Additional air conditioning of the truck cab will be required for this project. A small window unit will be purchased and stowed in the vehicle along with the required materials and tools necessary to mount the unit in the front passenger side window upon deployment.

AMF2 Main and X/Ka Radar Sites

The ARM participants met with Ali Wafir at the Gan MMS Office on February 10. Mr. Wafir arranged for two persons associated with airport operations including Mohamed Didi, Managing Director of the Gan Airport Company Limited as well as the Gan Met Office Assistant Director (Mohammed) to review siting plans for the AMF2 main equipment on the airport grounds (near -0.6905967 Lat, 73.1498967 Long). Issues related to instrument locations with respect to height restrictions as a function of distance from the runway and visual blockage of the runway from the airport tower were worked out, with the current siting plans being approved. Getting power run from the nearby distribution facilities to the AMF2 system was also discussed .

For the X/Ka band scanning radar, a visit to the wharf and spit sites determined that locating the ARM X/Ka radar at the spit site is impractical for several reasons, including view blockage, infrastructure concerns, and concerns over security due to locals frequent presence. Thus it was determined that the only viable location is at the wharf site. Initially a location to the north of the proposed S-band site, half way up the available area of the wharf site grounds, was chosen. However, during a subsequent site visit concerns over proximity of the high power S-PolKa Ka band emissions possibly interfering with the much lower power ARM Ka band radar system forced a rethinking. It was determined that it would be better to locate the ARM X/Ka system further north on the end of the wharf site grounds, giving the maximum possible 600 m distance between the two systems assuming that the S-PolKa will be located at the initially identified location (see elsewhere for the surprise building plans that impact the S-PolKa siting). Worst case might require the S-PolKa be located further north, where the initial X/Ka band site was. This would decrease the distance between the two Ka bans radars to only about 270m, which is a concern. Lat/Long coordinates for the 3 locations are:

1st choice S-PolKa location near dock access road: -0.63039, 73.10276667

New X/Ka site: -0.625043333, 73.101956667

Middle location, alternate S-PolKa site: -0.62730667, 73.102321667

All three locations have unblocked line-of-site for RHI scanning over the ARM vertically pointing Ka band radar at the airport site. It was also discussed that perhaps it would be best to locate the ARM E-COR flux instruments at the X/Ka wharf site which would likely provide more representative flux measurements, being near the sea side, rather than at the airport in amongst all the buildings there.

Project Communications (Dhiraagu ISP and cell phone provider)

INTERNET AND PHONE COMMUNICATIONS We met several times with the Internet Provider Dhiraagu (www.dhiraagu.com.mv). They were very responsive.

Contacts: The primary point of contact is Mumthaz Hussain, Manager Southern Operations. • [email protected] • +960 6887545 • +960 7788289 (mobile) • +960 6886545 (fax) The secondary point of contact is Ahmed Shareef, Sales Executive. • [email protected] • +960 6885036 • +960 7772953 (mobile) • +960 6885030 (fax) Project networking: We set up a proposed ‘wiring diagram’ (see below). However, before we can get cost estimates for setup and monthly fees, we need to provide the following items to Dhiraagu: 1. Local data rate requirements 2. Number of computers per site (probably only necessary if they provide routers) 3. Internet speed requirements (It is likely that reasonable speeds within Addu Atoll are possible. Speeds to the rest of the world will be limited by intra-island links (now microwave but see below) and bandwidth on 2 fibers that serve the Maldives to the rest of the world via Sri Lanka and India).

We requested: 1. 1-5 Mbps dedicated, wired line to S-PolKa; may be shared with SACR; 3 static IP addresses 2. Dedicated, wired line to the ARM airport location (data rate TBD) 3. Connectivity from SMART-R to S-PolKa (data rate TBD) 4. Connectivity from SACR to the ARM airport location (data rate TBD)

Additional internet information: There are several infrastructure changes that will be taking place before DYNAMO begins. 1. Fiber optic, submarine cable will be run from Male to Addu in the next few months. The survey operation was completed on Feb 9, 2011, and work will start soon. When completed, this will provide E1 data rates. 2. 3G network available on Addu as of Feb 12, 2011 providing data rates up to 2Mbps. This makes the use of their mobile modems much more efficient as they will no longer rely on the EDGE network. This was in place and functional before we left. The network is theoretically accessible anywhere on the atoll via a USB modem/SIM card combination. This will be a good option for internet access away from the radar sites. Costs are as follows: a. Modem 800Rf b. Starter kit (SIM card plus 400 MB) 199Rf c. Recharge amounts available: i. 400 MB/1week 100Rf ii. 1.5 GB/1 month 200Rf iii. 5.0 GB/1 month 500Rf

There are various wireless internet hotspots with 512 Kbps speed. The wireless time can be added using a Dhiraagu phone (see below) by texting the request. A user name and password is texted back to you. We found the coverage at the Dhoogas to be marginal and recommend the 3G modems described above.

A Dhiraagu tech is on-call 24-7.

There is no firewall or blocking but outbound blocking is OK with routers.

Cell Phone Service:

Dhiraagu also provides cellular phone service on Addu. If you have a phone that can use an international SIM card than you can simply buy one at the Dhiraagu stores including the one at the Male airport. They will also sell you a phone; the cheapest one was about 30 USD. We had 3 SIM cards on the site survey and they were prepaid. Cards to recharge the time on the phones are available at many shops around the island including the souvenir stores at the entrance to the Equator Village and Dhoogas Inn. The phone coverage was quite good and the service was reliable during the trip.

We can give Mumthaz a list of the phone numbers we used on this trip so that we can retain the same numbers when we’re out there for the field phase.

Cost of calls from the Maldives to the US is 3Rf/minute (about $0.24). Cost of calls from the US to the Maldives is ‘very high’ but I haven’t checked the rates. Skype might be our best bet.

Power Company

We had a meeting with the local power provider. This had mostly to do with support for the ARM sites at the wharf and at Gan airport. The bottom line is that ARM will have to pay for all installation costs including the ordering and shipment of transformers, cable etc. needed to connect the sites to the grid. Brad Orr will communicate directly with the manager (Ibriham 7786433) on details.

Site Security

Our hosts on Addu Atoll strongly recommended that there be 24 hour security for the DYNAMO sites during the deployment. They noted an increase in vandalism and other mischief over recent years.

Fuel

Fuel is provided by the State Trading Organization (STO) on the Addu Atoll. STO is a government run utility, much like the power company. Current rates were 10.80Rf per liter for petrol and 12.05Rf (~1 USD) per liter for diesel. This works out to about $4/gallon USD. Delivery is not a problem as we saw several tanker trucks moving around the island. Delivery to the SMART-R site may require a smaller truck with many containers of fuel.

Computer support and equipment

We were told that there were unspecified local technicians that could be called upon to work on equipment and provide supplies. Specific contacts were not provided at this point.

We were told that there is not currently a retail computer store on the Atoll, and orders are made to Male. However there are plans for at least one computer store to open before the project starts, but this remains to be seen.

Trash Removal

No real resolution to this support was possible. The likely alternative will be to haul trash back to the hotel for disposal. We did not see anything like a trash truck or similar service.

Southern Command, Maldives Military

It was suggested that we meet with these folks at some point to let them know about our deployment sites and facilities. We actually briefed the local commander during our visit in 2010. It was decided to hold off on this contact until a later time closer to deployment.

Police

It was suggested that we meet with these folks at some point to let them know about our deployment sites and facilities. They may also be able to help watch over the sites as part of the security process. It was rare to see a police patrol car during our visit. It was decided to hold off on this contact until a later time closer to deployment.

Medical Services, Hospitals and Doctors

Hithadhoo hospital.

There is one hospital in Addu and several smaller clinics. Scott and Stacy went to Hithadhoo Regional Hospital on Hithadhoo Island and talked with the managing director, Hussein Rasheed. He was very gracious and answered all our questions. He also gave us a tour of his facility.

Until last year, the hospital was run by the government but has since been taken over by a private corporation. Since the takeover, there have been several improvements to facilities and services and several more are in the works.

The hospital currently has 50 beds (one men’s ward and one women’s ward) plus 3 ICU beds (this will increase to 5 in September). Private rooms are being added sometime this year. Every specialty but cardiology is represented on staff. There is a pharmacy in-house and three others right across the street from the hospital. Emergency dental work is also performed at the hospital (i.e. extractions) and more routine dental work (i.e. fillings) will be performed on Hithadhoo by June of this year (currently, routine dental is on another island). They have operating, X-ray, physiotherapy, pediatric and isolation facilities. Within the next few months, they will be set up to participate in teleconsulting so that local doctors can talk with and share test results with doctors anywhere else in the world.

The hospital accepts only two insurance carriers – Madhana and Allied Health. Other than that, payments must be made in cash. Credit card payments should be an option by the end of March, 2011.

The phone number to the Reception area is 6888843. All emergency calls should go to this number and they will handle sending an ambulance as necessary. They have ambulances located throughout the atoll at various clinics and the closest one is dispatched to the scene of an accident. From there, the injured party is taken to the closest clinic where an assessment is made whether or not he/she needs to go to the hospital or can be treated at the clinic. Ambulance response times of about 5 minutes can be expected to Gan (from clinic) and also to the Spit and Wharf sites. There is an emergency physician at the hospital 24 hours/day.

The reception number can also be used to set up a medical consultation by phone.

Local Freight handler

The local freight handler is Citybiz Holdings Private Limited. The local agent is Jamal with whom we met several times. (He also has a 5 room house that we should seriously consider for rental). They can provide crane and container hauling support for off loading material at the Addu port and trucking the containers to the various sites. Citybiz will work to clear all paperwork, customs, etc. and we were reminded to put our international shipping agent in contact with Citybiz once our arrangements are finalized. Citybiz will also coordinate with the Male agent, Asia Forwarding, for arrival to Gan.

Toilets for the site

This is a problem. There are no portable toilet facilities or service for the island. We were told that a toilet and septic system could be built on site for ~$2000. This does not appear to be a reasonable option. We are looking into a 5 room rental house that could serve as lodging and a break room from S-PolKa. It is within 5-8 minutes of the site.

Vehicle rental

There are no rental vehicles on the island. However, it seemed everyone we talked to was willing to sell their vehicle to us or rent it with a driver for the length of the project. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well on Addu atoll.

Mr Wafir has already reserved 4 vehicles (private cars) and will try to find a small pick up truck for the period of our deployment. It is clear that car pooling will be necessary for the group.

Laundry

The Equator Village and Dhoogas Inn (now called the Gan Hotel and Spa) both offer laundry service with return of clean clothes with 24 hours. The laundry price list for the Equator Village is available on the web site. We did not see laundry facilities at Jamal’s house.

Banking and Grocery Stores

Bank of Maldives

The Bank of the Maldives does have service to draw cash from credit or ATM cards. The normal ATM machine does not work but one can go inside the bank and a clerk can assist in withdrawing funds. This can only be done on Sunday through Thursday during business hours from 9am to 230pm and requires a passport.

Grocery

Grocery

There are several small groceries in the villages on Addu Atoll. They have a limited selection of dry goods, fresh vegetables and a few meats (mostly chicken).

Alternative housing

It turns out they are several houses with suitable rooms that could be rented by the project for our extended deployment. We saw three of these locations and all seemed suitable. One is near the SMART-R site (the Jamal House), the 2nd is near the Dhoogas Inn just across the causeway from the hotel and the 3rd is very near Gan Airport.

Additionally, on the last full day of Chuck Long and Sally McFarlane’s visit, a meeting was held with Mohamed Didi, the Managing Director for the Gan Airport Company Limited. During that meeting, Mr. Didi offered use of some housing on the airport complex. The housing consists of one or two (as desired) barracks- style buildings, each containing two bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, a common/living room area, and another room currently used as storage or possibly office space. This third room could have a bathroom added, thus converted into a third bedroom. The rooms have air conditioners, and the baths have hot water from in-line heaters. Attached to each building by covered walkway is another smaller building which houses a laundry facility (washer and clothes lines) in one half, and a kitchen facility in the other (stove, refrigerator, sink, counter space, etc.) for cooking. Based on his perception that these were 4- bedroom units, Mr. Didi mentioned a possible rental price of $1000 USD per month per unit (building). This is considerably less than staying at the Equator Village, but then there are no restaurant-provided meals. However, these units are on the airport grounds, thus are inside the airport security perimeter, and afford easy close-by access to the planned AMF2 main site, about a 2-minute walk. This would alleviate some of the need for rental car transportation, at least for those typically manning the AMF2 airport site.

Fill sand for sites

Arrangements for this service can be made through Mr. Hussain the Deputy Minister. We also spoke with the sand contractor (contacted by Hussain) working on the convention center and he will provide services that we need for the Spit and Wharf sites.

Hardware Store

We found several different small hardware stores in the villages on the island. Items not available can be ordered from Male and delivered within a few days.

Insurance companies

We could find no evidence of insurance companies that could write any sort of policies for visitors. This was viewed as a necessity if we wanted to rent vehicles without drivers while on Addu Atoll. We can ask the question again if it becomes a big issue.

Gan Airport Manager

Chuck Long and Sally McFarlane did manage a meeting with Mohamed Didi, the Managing Director for the Gan Airport Company Limited (+960-978-7826, [email protected]) on February 13 after the rest of the DYNAMO/ARM folks had left. He expressed a very cooperative attitude toward the campaign, specifically for the siting of the ARM AMF2 equipment on the airport grounds near the Gan Met Office as planned. Issues related to height restrictions based on distance from the center of the runway and runway sight blockage for tower personnel were discussed during this meeting, as well as previously with other airport operations related personnel, and all plans for site instrument and equipment locations are approved. Issues related to operating the Falcon aircraft out of Gan were not discussed since neither Sally nor myself felt knowledgeable enough to engage in that topic, but the above contact information is provided so aircraft support can be addressed.

MMS Gan sounding status

Mr. Wafir noted that the hydrogen generator used for once a day (1200 UTC) sounding launches failed around 1 February 2011. There have been no soundings since that failure. MMS and ARM are talking about repair of the generator and assistance for sounding launches during the 6 month DYNAMO deployment of AMF-2.

Meeting with South Province Planning Commission

We met with the two senior officials from the Commission to update them on our site plans and placement of facilities. They were very supportive of our project and said they would write letters recommending approval of our use of the land for the project time period. This covers the Spit and Wharf sites only.

They then described the whole evolution of self government for Addu Atoll as it will become Addu City and bring in a Mayor and City Council over the next few weeks. They do not believe this will cause a problem for our support.

In-transit to home 13-14 February

Return from the Maldives was through Singapore. It was most helpful to have a day of rest in Singapore given the flight out left at 1130PM local time and arrived in Singapore at 0700 the next morning. The hotel at the airport (Crown Plaza) was an excellent facility with good food, especially the breakfast buffet, and easy access to a large food court in the lower level public area of the adjacent airport terminal.

The route out through Bangkok involves a long (6 hour) layover, arriving in Bangkok at about 11:30 pm with the following flight leaving at about 5:30 am. This is fairly grueling after a tiring set of activities during the Maldives visit. I saw some signs having to do with possible short-term accommodations in the airport, but will need to look into this. It would be nice to have a shower in a room while waiting during the 6 hour layover.

The route through the Middle East was discussed in the last site survey report. Clearly it is highly desirable to have a layover regardless of routing.

The Woman’s Perspective on the Maldives

The 3 women that were part of the site visit provided comments on their perspectives after visiting the Maldives for +/- one week. They are provided anonymously here. Please note there are differences in perspective and these should be addressed individually as desired.

1. All the information read on Maldives beforehand (as well as handout at Equator Village) stated conservative dress (shorts to the knees, no bared shoulders) was recommended when off resort property. All local women wore slacks and tunic-length shirts. Most wore head-scarves, although some did not. Slacks and short-sleeve or long-sleeve shirts were worn off the resort, and I never felt uncomfortable. On both Male and Gan, there were women working in the airport, hotels, restaurants, etc. but there were few women walking on the streets. It was estimated probably 90% of the people we saw on the streets in Male were men. I did not walk alone in Male, but it might have been a little uncomfortable. However, I did see some local women walking alone or women walking with kids, and they were not bothered by anyone. In Gan, I did walk alone across the causeway to the small harbor one day, and went into one of the local grocery stores and was not bothered at all. In the meetings with officials from the met office, etc. we spoke almost exclusively with male officials (there were some women in both the Male and Gan met offices, but we did not speak with them) and they all seemed comfortable speaking with me, responding to my questions, etc. My guess is that the more educated people are going to be used to dealing with women in professional capacities.

2. From a personal safety aspect, I do not advise women moving around the Maldives alone. I was escorted at all times by Brad and Mike and still felt uneasy at times. Rules regarding dress are easy enough to follow and don't see that being an issue. Groups of men congregating at various locations are more of a concern; however, I would need to spend more time on the island to make a fair assessment. From a work perspective, I would not station a woman alone at any location and make sure women are escorted by a man at all times.

3. Since the Maldives are a Sunni Muslim country, I had some concerns about expectations for female members of the DYNAMO research team. However, having spent a week split between Male and the Addu Atoll/Gan, I’ve put my reservations to rest.

Most importantly, the use of a burqa is optional and the use of face coverings is forbidden. The burqa is much more common in Addu/Gan than in Male, but I saw women in both locations who weren’t wearing one. See photos.

Dress is informal and light and cotton clothes are recommended. Nudity is strictly forbidden. Swimsuits and beachwear are only to be worn at resorts. Otherwise, women’s clothing needs to be conservative – at a minimum, shorts or skirts that cover the thighs and short-sleeved shirts that are not see-through or revealing in any way. I started out the week wearing long pants but shifted to shorts as the week went on and had no problems.

Most of the people on the streets are men and you often see them sitting at roadside cafes. I never saw a woman or group of women in one of the cafes. Many of the women who I saw on the street were walking children to and from school. However, I was able to walk alone around both Male and Addu without any problems or discomfort. I’m sure I was an unusual sight but no one reacted in a bad way.

Women are not very prominent in the workplace and seem relegated to secretarial and office work. However, there were a couple exceptions to this rule – there was a female meteorologist on Male and a female manager at the Dhoogas Inn.

Hithadhoo Male

Other Items of Interest and Important Details

• Do not drink the water on Gan or Hithadhoo Islands. • Men must wear tee shirts/shirts when in public. • No bathing suits outside the hotel pool or adjacent grounds. Conservative dress is required in public areas across the island. • Bring mosquito repellent for the evening. Malaria is NOT an issue in the Maldives • The celebration of Ramadan will begin in 5 months after the Lunar New Year. It will begin on or about 1 August 2011. During this period work does not stop but it most assuredly slows down for the full 28 days. We have spoken to the Maldives shipping agents and they said there should be no delay in moving our equipment through Male to Addu Atoll. • There will be a major international meeting during a yet unknown week in November 2011. During that week both Dhoogas and Equator Village will be fully booked with conference staff and the press. Our local hosts have offered to find us temporary housing during that period. • The MMS would like the project to consider opportunities for training staff during the project and after the project is over. They would like sponsorship for their meteorologists to come abroad to learn advanced forecasting techniques.