The observing efficiency of the Plateau de Bure Interferometer has suffered from the exceptionally bad weather conditions which have been prevailing over Western Europe during the last two months. Storms and strong snowfall have significantly delayed the scheduling of a large number of projects. Today, as of January 25, we have observed 8 out of 18 A- and B-rated observing requests, and only 5 have been considered as successfully completed in the C2-configuration.
Taking operational and observational restrictions into account, we now plan to move to the compact array configuration (D) by the middle of February. Priority will be given to projects already observed in the C2 configuration. We will do our best to keep investigators informed about the execution of their projects all along the winter period.
Projects aiming at deep integrations and low-resolution mapping in the D-configuration will definitely not be started before the middle of February, but users of the Plateau de Bure Interferometer should contact their Local Contacts now (if they have not already done it) to have their observing procedures ready in time.