Icing Test and Measurement Site.
Newfoundland Hydro Icing Test and Measurement Site at Hawke Hills near Holyrood.

This site is at 300 metres above sea level near the summit of the Hawke Hills, 6 km. south of Holyrood. Its elevation, topography and lack of tree shelter can result in very strong winds which, during freezing rain storms, can lead to considerable ice accretion on power transmission equipment. This view, looking towards the south, shows the test transmission line and supporting triangular tower (centre), three recording precipitation gauges, (right foreground), air temperature and humidity sensors in the "screen" ( white box left of centre), passive near-surface ice accretion measurement rods (left of tower), and wind speed and direction sensors (on the pole to right of tower). All instrumentation is operated continuously by Newfoundland Hydro, enabling the ice loads during freezing precipitation episodes to be related to accompanying meteorological conditions.

Reproduced by permission of Colin Banfield. ©1999.