Polar Low tracks in the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea from 1999 until 2019

Rojo, Maxence; Noer, Gunnar; Claud, Chantal

doi:10.1594/pangaea.903058

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…In this context, Stoll et al (2018) developed the first global climatology of PLs from the ERA-Interim reanalysis (Dee et al, 2011). The here-derived climatology features an update to the previous work by the following: the present effort (i) is based on the recently released ERA5 reanalysis (Hersbach et al, 2020) at a horizontal grid spacing equivalent to 30 km as compared to 80 km of its predecessor, ERA-Interim; (ii) utilizes a tracking algorithm specifically tuned for the detection of mesoscale cyclones (Watanabe et al, 2016); and (iii) derives PL criteria from the comparison of five manually collected PL archives (Noer et al, 2011;Smirnova et al, 2015;Yanase et al, 2016;Rojo et al, 2019b;Golubkin et al, 2021), instead of relying on a single one.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global climatology of polar lows investigated for local differences and wind-shear environments

Stoll

2022

Weather Clim. Dynam.

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Abstract. Polar lows are intense mesoscale cyclones developing in marine polar air masses. This study presents a new global climatology of polar lows based on the ERA5 reanalysis for the years 1979–2020. Criteria for the detection of polar lows are derived based on a comparison of five polar-low archives with cyclones derived by a mesoscale tracking algorithm. The characteristics associated with polar lows are considered by the following criteria: (i) intense cyclone (large relative vorticity), (ii) mesoscale (small vortex diameter), and (iii) development in the marine polar air masses (a combination of low potential static stability and low potential temperature at the tropopause). Polar lows develop in all marine areas adjacent to sea ice or cold landmasses, mainly in the winter half year. The length and intensity of the season are regionally dependent. The highest density appears in the Nordic Seas. For all ocean sub-basins, forward-shear polar lows are the most common, whereas weak-shear polar lows and those propagating towards warmer environments are second and third most frequent, depending on the area. Reverse-shear polar lows and those propagating towards colder environments are rather seldom, especially in the Southern Ocean. Generally, polar lows share many characteristics across ocean basins and wind-shear categories. The most remarkable difference is that forward-shear polar lows often occur in a stronger vertical wind shear, whereas reverse-shear polar lows feature lower static stability. Hence, the contribution to a fast baroclinic growth rate is slightly different for the shear categories.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global climatology of polar lows investigated for local differences and wind-shear environments

Stoll

2022

Weather Clim. Dynam.

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“…To investigate the sea surface barotropic response, we selected two PLs observed in the Barents Sea on 19-21 January 2017 and 24-25 November 2018 (hereinafter referred to as PL1 and PL2, respectively). Parameters of these PLs, such as location, size, cloud signature, and stage of development were obtained from the datasets of PLs observed from 1999 to 2019 over the North Atlantic using AVHHR IR images [20,21]. PL1 formed over the deep Norwegian Sea, south of Svalbard, at about 3:00 UTC on 19 January 2017.…”

Section: Selected Plsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The hourly fields of surface wind speed and sea level pressure on regular latitudelongitude grids at 0.25° × 0.25° resolution were obtained from the ERA5 reanalysis dataset [20] (white dots) and determined from the location of the minimum sea level pressure provided in the ERA5 reanalysis dataset. Trajectories are overlaid on the color map of ocean depth from the GEBCO bathymetric dataset.…”

Section: Era5 Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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On Barotropic Response of Arctic Seas to Polar Lows: A Case Study in the Barents Sea

Kudryavtsev,

Stokoz,

Khvorostovsky

2023

Remote Sensing

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In the present paper, we investigate the sea surface height (SSH) anomalies caused by polar lows (PLs) crossing the central part of the Barents Sea and verify if the barotropic response is detectable in the shallow Arctic seas. Analysis of the SSH anomalies in response to the passage of two PLs is performed using satellite altimeter measurements and model simulations. The observed SSH anomalies contained an inverse barometer correction; therefore, they were presumably caused only by the action of surface wind stress in the PLs. The SSH anomalies along the satellite altimeter tracks had the shape of a trough, with the lowest surface height near the center of the PL. The observed anomalies were well distinguished within about one day after the PL passage, with the largest negative value of 0.6 m. The SSH anomalies are analyzed using a simplified model of the ocean barotropic response to the surface wind stress, derived from the hourly wind fields provided in the ERA5 reanalysis dataset. The model quantitatively reproduced the SSH anomalies along most satellite altimeter tracks crossing the PL trajectories. The model simulations revealed that the largest negative SSH anomalies were observed in areas where the PL translation velocity was low and its moving direction changed with the trajectory curvature radius, which was much smaller than the barotropic radius of deformation. The estimated quasi-geostrophic current velocities corresponding to the SSH anomalies in the wakes of the PLs reached 0.15 m/s, which were comparable to the current velocities observed in the Barents Sea.

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