EUREKA - It's 6:15 a.m. at the Eureka weather station and time to send up the first weather balloon of the day.

Meteorological technician Jane Fonger holds the packet of weather instruments measuring temperature, humidity and air pressure she is about to launch into sky with the help of a hydrogen-filled balloon. Staff at the Eureka Weather Station launch two of these a day, at 6:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. The data is transmitted back to the station via the antenna on the bottom. - Jennifer Geens/NNSL photo

The sky is clear, the air, crisp. The silence is broken only by the songs of snow buntings who dart around the old station that's nearly buried under snowdrifts.

Jane Fonger readies the hydrogen-filled balloon and its attached packet of sensors that will take measurements of temperature, humidity and air pressure as it rises up to 30 km into the atmosphere.

She's a meteorological technician, or met tech for short, and is one of nine people who live and work at the station close to the 80th parallel on Ellesmere Island, which was first established in 1947. The station also plays host occasionally to other researchers, polar adventurers, and passengers on flights diverted from Resolute.

"It gets crazy when we have a lot of people come in but that's part of the fun," she said.

Meteorological technicians take weather observations, record them and communicate them. A Grade 12 diploma with math, science and communication skills are the minimum qualifications, though most met techs have university degrees. Environment Canada provides on-the-job training.

Fonger, who lives in Regina when she's not on Ellesmere Island, did her degree in biology, and wanted a job where she'd be out in the field. She's been doing the job for three years, in three-month increments. At the end of April had two weeks to go on her current shift.

The station has satellite TV, a few thousand movies on DVD and VHS and other recreational equipment such as a shuffle board and a pool table, but it's recommended staff take up a hobby or correspondence courses to help fill their free time. Fonger has been studying French.

At the station there's a day shift and a night shift, with the day shift running from about 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the night shift from about midnight to 11 a.m. Staff spend five days on one shift then switch to the other. They work for three months then get three months off and the Arctic met techs alternate between postings to Eureka and Alert.

"The vacations are great, especially since they're at different times of the year," she said.

They also mean a break from the either 24-hour daylight (April 13 to Aug. 28) or the 24-hour darkness (Oct. 21 to Feb 20.) The climate is harsh and dry, staying below zero most of the year, with lows of around -40 from December to March, not including windchill.

"We get very little snow, and what we do get blows clear, so that's good for the wildlife," she said.

Muskox, wolves, hares and foxes are frequent visitors to the station. Peary caribou and lemmings are seen occasionally, but it's been a few years since a polar bear was last spotted in the area.