Local wind system in the Rongbuk Valley on the northern slope of Mt. Everest

Abstract

To better understand the local wind systems in the Himalayas, wind and related atmospheric parameters were observed in the Rongbuk Valley on the northern slope of Mt. Everest, during the HEST2006 campaign, from May 29 to June 29, 2006. Data analysis and a simple numerical simulation show that the dominating down‐valley flow in this valley is mainly formed by the thermally driven winds, “valley wind”, “mountain wind” and “glacier wind”. The vertical air motion is composed of a descending flow from the morning to midnight and an ascending flow for the rest of the day, with important modification from the vertical component of the above down‐valley flow and a compensation flow of the “slope wind”. The analysis also shows that the local wind system is well confined in the Rongbuk Valley due to topographic shielding effects.

The Turbulence Characteristics of the Atmospheric Surface Layer on the North Slope of Mt. Everest Region in the Spring of 2005

“…At 10:00, the ratio of the down valley wind increased with increasing wind speed. This is further evidence that the strong down-valley flow induced by (normal) glacier wind prevailed during the daytime, which is consistent with the results of Zou et al (2008). Therefore, from 12:00, the strong down-valley flow induced by (normal) glacier wind influences the turbulent spectrum.…”

“…According to the former studies of glacier wind (Shen and Gao 1975;Jiro 1987, Ludecke and Kuhle 1991, and Zou et al 2008, spectra and co-spectra were analyzed depending on the prevailing wind; case A-southerly wind speed larger than 6 m s À1 during daytime, case B-southerly with wind speed less than 6 m s À1 and case Cnortherly wind. In Fig.…”

“…Everest region, where Shen and Gao (1975), Ludecke and Kuhle (1991) have suggested that a major influence on turbulence was the strong down-valley flow induced by (normal) glacier wind in this area. Zou et al (2008) suggested that this local wind system was well confined in the Rongbuk Valley due to the topographic shielding e¤ects. The objective of this study was to achieve a good understanding of the surface-layer characteristics at the Mt.…”

Study on impact of the South Asian summer monsoon on the down‐valley wind on the northern slope of Mt. Everest

“…0.75 between the daily variations of the net radiation flux and the down-valley surface wind. These results support the thermally driving mechanism of surface wind in mountain regions [Whiteman, 1990;Egger et al, 2000;Zou et al, 2007].…”

“…Everest for investigating the Himalayan circulation system. Preliminary studies based on the observation data showed that the surface wind system in the Rongbuk Valley is composed of various thermally driven mountain circulations [Zou et al, 2007].…”