scholarly journals Numerical simulations and observations of the role of katabatic winds in the creation and maintenance of Scharffenbergbotnen blue ice area, Antarctica

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1415-1426 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Zwinger ◽  
T. Malm ◽  
M. Schäfer ◽  
R. Stenberg ◽  
J. C. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Katabatic Wind ◽  
High Wind ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Katabatic Winds ◽  
Near Surface

Abstract. We model the role of katabatic winds in the formation and maintenance of a blue ice area in Scharffenbergbotnen valley, Antarctica, using the finite element code Elmer. The high-horizontal-resolution (50–200 m) numerical simulations of the local wind flow from katabatic wind fronts show high spatial variability in wind-impact patterns and good congruence between places with high near-surface wind speeds and the blue ice area. In addition we perform wind simulations on an altered glacier geometry that resembles the thicker ice cover at the Late Glacial Maximum (LGM). These simulations indicate that the pronounced spatial wind-impact patterns depend on present-day geometry and did not occur during the LGM. This leads to the conclusion that the formation of the inner blue ice area of the Scharffenbergbotnen valley started only after the lowering of the ice surface, i.e. after the LGM. Experiments with smoothed surface topography suggest that detailed positions of the high wind regions, and hence individual blue ice fields, may have varied as the ice sheet lowered. The simulation results obtained with the present-day geometry were fortuitously confirmed by the destruction of a field camp located in a high-wind-speed area and its subsequent redistribution to low-velocity areas. The experiments and the field observations are consistent with localized violent katabatic events rather than synoptic-scale storms, playing the dominant role in the formation and maintenance of this and perhaps many blue ice areas.

scholarly journals Interaction of katabatic wind and local surface mass balance at Scharffenbergbotnen Blue Ice Area, Antarctica

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 2231-2257
Author(s):  
T. Zwinger ◽  
T. Malm ◽  
M. Schäfer ◽  
R. Stenberg ◽  
J. C. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Dominant Role ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Katabatic Wind ◽  
High Wind ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Variable Wind ◽  
Good Congruence

Abstract. We model the wind causing the formation of a blue ice area in Scharffenbergbotnen valley, Antarctica, using the finite element code Elmer. The high resolution numerical simulations of the local wind flow from katabatic wind fronts show highly spatially variable wind impact patterns and good congruence between places of enhanced wind-impact and the blue ice area. The results were fortuitously confirmed by the destruction of a field camp located in a high wind speed area and its subsequent redistribution to low velocity areas. In addition we perform wind simulations on an altered glacier geometry that resembles the thicker ice cover at the Late Glacial Maximum (LGM). These simulations indicate that the pronounced spatial wind-impact patterns depend on present day geometry and did not occur during the LGM. This leads to the conclusion that the formation of the blue ice area that is situated more inside the valley of Scharffenbergbotnen started only after the lowering of the ice surface, later than the LGM. Experiments with smoothed surface topography suggest that detailed positions of the high wind regions and hence individual blue ice fields, may have varied as the ice sheet lowered. The experiments and the field observations are consistent with localized violent katabatic events, rather than synoptic scale storms, playing the dominant role in the formation and maintenance of this, and perhaps many blue ice areas.

Decomposing the time-mean Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and its variability with latitude.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Jonathan ◽  
Mike Bell ◽  
Helen Johnson ◽  
David Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Global Climate ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Boundary Density ◽  
Meridional Overturning

<p>The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulations (AMOC) is crucial to our global climate, transporting heat and nutrients around the globe. Detecting  potential climate change signals first requires a careful characterisation of inherent natural AMOC variability. Using a hierarchy of global coupled model  control runs (HadGEM-GC3.1, HighResMIP) we decompose the overturning circulation as the sum of (near surface) Ekman, (depth-dependent) bottom velocity, eastern and western boundary density components, as a function of latitude. This decomposition proves a useful low-dimensional characterisation of the full 3-D overturning circulation. In particular, the decomposition provides a means to investigate and quantify the constraints which boundary information imposes on the overturning, and the relative role of eastern versus western contributions on different timescales. </p><p>The basin-wide time-mean contribution of each boundary component to the expected streamfunction is investigated as a function of depth, latitude and spatial resolution. Regression modelling supplemented by Correlation Adjusted coRrelation (CAR) score diagnostics provide a natural ranking of the contributions of the various components in explaining the variability of the total streamfunction. Results reveal the dominant role of the bottom component, western boundary and Ekman components at short time-scales, and of boundary density components at decadal and longer timescales.</p>

A New Time-dependent Theory of Tropical Cyclone Intensification

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuqing Wang ◽  
Yuanlong Li ◽  
Jing Xu
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Time Dependent ◽  
Quasi Equilibrium ◽  
Free Atmosphere ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Tangential Wind

AbstractIn this study, the boundary-layer tangential wind budget equation following the radius of maximum wind, together with an assumed thermodynamical quasi-equilibrium boundary layer is used to derive a new equation for tropical cyclone (TC) intensification rate (IR). A TC is assumed to be axisymmetric in thermal wind balance with eyewall convection becoming in moist slantwise neutrality in the free atmosphere above the boundary layer as the storm intensifies as found recently based on idealized numerical simulations. An ad-hoc parameter is introduced to measure the degree of congruence of the absolute angular momentum and the entropy surfaces. The new IR equation is evaluated using results from idealized ensemble full-physics axisymmetric numerical simulations. Results show that the new IR equation can reproduce the time evolution of the simulated TC intensity. The new IR equation indicates a strong dependence of IR on both TC intensity and the corresponding maximum potential intensity (MPI). A new finding is the dependence of TC IR on the square of the MPI in terms of the near-surface wind speed for any given relative intensity. Results from some numerical integrations of the new IR equation also suggest the finite-amplitude nature of TC genesis. In addition, the new IR theory is also supported by some preliminary results based on best-track TC data over the North Atlantic and eastern and western North Pacific. Compared with the available time-dependent theories of TC intensification, the new IR equation can provide a realistic intensity-dependent IR during weak intensity stage as in observations.

scholarly journals Surface climate of the interior of the Lambert Glacier basin, Antarctica, from automatic weather station data

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Allison
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Surface Wind Speed ◽  
Katabatic Wind ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Surface Climate ◽  
Diurnal Wind ◽  
Lambert Glacier ◽  
Lambert Glacier Basin

Data from six automatic weather stations deployed around the interior of the Lambert Glacier basin, Antarctica, at surface elevations of 1830-2741 m are used to compile a surface climatology of this part of interior Antarctica for the period 1994-96. The stations measure air pressure, near-surface wind speed and air temperature at several levels, wind direction and firn temperatures. The topography of the basin, which extends more than 800 km inland, controls the katabatic wind regime and strongly influences the surface climate of the region. Windiest sites are on the steep coastal slopes, and within the depression of the Lambert and Mellor Ice Streams where the flow is topographically channelled. Surface winds here show greater seasonal variation in speed but less variation in direction than elsewhere. The annual mean temperatures on the relatively steep slopes on the eastern side of the basin are 4-5°C warmer than at equivalent altitude on the western side. During winter, near-synchronous synoptic temperature and pressure increases occur throughout the basin to at least 1000 km from the coast. There is a consistent pattern of diurnal wind variation in the summer at all stations, with maximum wind speed at about 0900 LST (local solar time), and the most easterly direction at 1300 LST.

Analyzing the atmospheric scales involved in sea-breeze formation and frontal characteristics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Ander Arrillaga ◽  
Pedro Jiménez ◽  
Jordi Vilà-Guerau de Arellano ◽  
Maria Antonia Jiménez ◽  
Carlos Román-Cascón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Sea Breeze ◽  
Stable Stratification ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Sea Temperature ◽  
The Moment

<p>We investigate sea-breeze (SB) frontal passages troughout a 10-year period. Spanning the whole period, numerical simulations from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model are compared with a comprehensive observational database from the Cabauw Experimental Site (Ruisdael Project). On the one hand, a fine horizontal resolution of 2 km is employed in the numerical simulations, and the observational vertical levels within the first 200 m above the surface are replicated. On the other hand, an algorithm based on objective and strict filters is applied to both observations and simulations to select the SB events. This methodology allows to investigate the atmospheric scales influencing the SB formation and their interaction with local turbulence in a robust and objective way.</p><p>By carrying out a filter-by-filter comparison, we find that the simulated large-scale conditions show a good rate of coincidence with the observations (69%). Small biases in the large scale wind direction, however, induce important deviations in the surface-wind evolution. Regarding the mesoscale forcings, the land-sea temperature gradient is overestimated in average up to 4 K, producing stronger SB fronts in WRF. The analysis of the SB frontal characteristics and impacts is carried out by classifying the events into three boundary-layer regimes (convective, transition and stable) based on the value of the sensible-heat flux at the moment of the SB onset. The stronger SB in the model leads to enhanced turbulence particularly in the convective and transition regimes: the friction velocity, for instance, is overstated by around 50% at the SB onset. In addition, the arrival of the SB front enhances the stable stratification and gives rise to faster afternoon and evening transitions compared with situations solely driven by local atmospheric turbulence.</p><p>The obtained results can be considered a benchmark of the aspects to be improved in order to produce finer SB forecasts and more adequate representations of the associated physical processes, particularly during the afternoon and evening transition of the ABL.</p>

scholarly journals The Operational Impact of QuikSCAT Winds in Perth, Australia: Examples and Limitations

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lance M. Leslie ◽  
Bruce W. Buckley ◽  
Mark Leplastrier
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
Severe Weather ◽  
Wind Data ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
Operational Impact ◽  
Regional Forecast

Abstract The preparation of accurate operational weather forecasts and the timely issuance of severe marine weather and ocean warnings and advisories for major oceanic weather systems impacting both coastal areas and the open ocean are major forecasting problems facing the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s Regional Forecast Centre (RFC) and its collocated Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre (TCWC) in Perth, Western Australia. The region of responsibility for the Perth RFC is vast, covering a large portion of the southeast Indian and Southern Oceans, both of which are extremely data sparse, especially for near-surface marine wind data. Given that these coastline and open-ocean areas are subject to some of the world’s most intense tropical cyclones, rapidly intensifying midlatitude cyclones, and powerful cold fronts, there is now a heavy reliance upon NASA Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) data for both routine and severe weather warning forecasts. The focus of this note is on the role of QuikSCAT data in the Perth RFC for the accurate and early detection of maritime severe weather systems, both tropical and extratropical. First, the role of QuikSCAT data is described, and then three cases are presented in which the QuikSCAT data were pivotal in providing forecast guidance. The cases are a severe tropical cyclone in its development phase off the northwest coast of Australia, a strong southeast Indian Ocean cold front, and an explosively developing midlatitude Southern Ocean cyclone. In each case, the Perth RFC would have been unable to provide early and high-quality operational forecast and warning guidance without the timely availability of the QuikSCAT surface wind data.

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