The near‐surface wind field over the Antarctic continent

Lipzig, Nicole Van; Turner, John; Colwell, Steve; Broeke, M.R. van den

doi:10.1002/joc.1090

Cited by 63 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…Similar patterns can be seen in wind records of previous years (Parish and Cassano 2003) as well as from the Ohio State version of the Polar MM5 that uses a 60-km grid resolution over the Antarctic for 1993 (Guo et al 2003). Results from the previous modeling work of Parish and Bromwich (1991) and the Regional Atmospheric Climate Model (van Lipzig et al 2004) also show similar features.…”

Section: Streamlines Of the Antarctic Wind Fieldsupporting

confidence: 74%

Reexamination of the Near-Surface Airflow over the Antarctic Continent and Implications on Atmospheric Circulations at High Southern Latitudes*

Parish

Bromwich

2007

Monthly Weather Review

164

143

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Previous work has shown that winds in the lower atmosphere over the Antarctic continent are among the most persistent on earth with directions coupled to the underlying ice topography. In 1987, Parish and Bromwich used a diagnostic model to depict details of the Antarctic near-surface airflow. A radially outward drainage pattern off the highest elevations of the ice sheets was displayed with wind speeds that generally increase from the high interior to the coast. These winds are often referred to as "katabatic," with the implication that they are driven by radiational cooling of near-surface air over the sloping ice terrain. It has been shown that the Antarctic orography constrains the low-level wind regime through other forcing mechanisms as well. Dynamics of the lower atmosphere have been investigated increasingly by the use of numerical models since the observational network over the Antarctic remains quite sparse. Real-time numerical weather prediction for the U.S. Antarctic Program has been ongoing since the 2000-01 austral summer season via the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS). AMPS output, which is based on a polar optimized version of the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model, is used for a 1-yr period from June 2003 to May 2004 to investigate the mean annual and seasonal airflow patterns over the Antarctic continent to compare with previous streamline depictions. Divergent outflow from atop the continental interior implies that subsidence must exist over the continent and a direct thermal circulation over the high southern latitudes results. Estimates of the north-south mass fluxes are obtained from the mean airflow patterns to infer the influence of the elevated ice sheets on the mean meridional circulation over Antarctica.

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Section: Streamlines Of the Antarctic Wind Fieldsupporting

confidence: 74%

Reexamination of the Near-Surface Airflow over the Antarctic Continent and Implications on Atmospheric Circulations at High Southern Latitudes*

Parish

Bromwich

2007

Monthly Weather Review

164

143

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“…Hence, assessing the mass balance and surface mass balance (SMB) of the Antarctic ice sheet has been a major concern of recent studies (Arthern et al, 2006;Chen et al, 2006;Davis et al, 2005;Giovinetto and Zwally, 2000;Helsen et al, 2008;Van de Berg et al, 2006;Velicogna and Wahr, 2006). In addition, several approaches for constraining the mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet are based on the interpolation of accumulation rates obtained from field data such as firn cores, snow pits or stake readings, sometimes using background fields from satellite data to control the interpolation scheme (Arthern et al, 2006;Giovinetto and Zwally, 2000;Vaughan et al, 1999). However, large parts of the vast East Antarctic Plateau remain uncovered by the ground-based measurements needed for these continent-wide interpolations.…”

Section: Surface Mass Balance Of Antarcticamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cullather et al (1998) compared the spatial and temporal variability of net precipitation (precipitation minus sublimation) derived from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational analysis data with a variety of glaciological and meteorological observations and data sets. Glaciological estimates of the Antarctic mass balance have been performed repeatedly; over the last four decades many such compilations (e.g., Arthern et al, 2006;Giovinetto and Zwally, 2000;Vaughan et al, 1999) have been presented, with continuously increasing amounts of data and using increasingly sophisticated methods. Although considerable differences in the results of regional investigations exist, most studies agree that there has been a slight increase in Antarctic precipitation/accumulation during the past few decades (Lemke et al, 2007).…”

Section: Surface Mass Balance Of Antarcticamentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal variability of snow accumulation rate on the East Antarctic ice divide between Dome Fuji and EPICA DML

et al. 2011

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Abstract.To better understand the spatio-temporal variability of the glaciological environment in Dronning Maud Land (DML), East Antarctica, a 2800-km-long Japanese-Swedish traverse was carried out. The route includes ice divides between two ice-coring sites at Dome Fuji and EPICA DML. We determined the surface mass balance (SMB) averaged over various time scales in the late Holocene based on studies of snow pits and firn cores, in addition to radar data. We find that the large-scale distribution of the SMB depends on the surface elevation and continentality, and that the SMB differs between the windward and leeward sides of ice divides for strong-wind events. We suggest that the SMB is highly influenced by interactions between the large-scale surface topography of ice divides and the wind field of strong-wind events that are often associated with high-precipitation events. Local variations in the SMB are governed by the local surface topography, which is influenced by the bedrock topography. In the eastern part of DML, the accumulation rate in the second half of the 20th century is found to be higher by ∼15 % Correspondence to: S. Fujita (sfujita@nipr.ac.jp) than averages over longer periods of 722 a or 7.9 ka before AD 2008. A similar increasing trend has been reported for many inland plateau sites in Antarctica with the exception of several sites on the leeward side of the ice divides.

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“…The Weddell and Ross shelf seas are filled with cold, saline, oxygen-rich shelf waters at around the surface freezing temperature (21.98C) (Jacobs et al 1970;Gill 1973;Nicholls et al 2009;Orsi and Wiederwohl 2009), while the Amundsen and Bellingshausen shelf seas are flooded with Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW), which is warm (118C), slightly less saline, and deoxygenated (Talbot 1988;Hellmer et al 1998;Jenkins and Jacobs 2008;Martinson et al 2008;Jacobs et al 2011). Both the Weddell and Ross Seas are influenced by strong katabatic winds (van Lipzig et al 2004), resulting in low air temperatures and the formation of persistent coastal polynyas. For this study the southwestern Weddell shelf sea is chosen as the representative cold shelf sea region as it is the source of the coldest and most voluminous bottom water (Gordon et al 2010), and because we have better access to oceanographic data and expertise of the region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Atmospheric Forcing on Antarctic Continental Shelf Water Masses

Petty

Feltham

Holland

2013

Journal of Physical Oceanography

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The Antarctic continental shelf seas feature a bimodal distribution of water mass temperature, with the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas flooded by Circumpolar Deep Water that is several degrees Celsius warmer than the cold shelf waters prevalent in the Weddell and Ross Seas. This bimodal distribution could be caused by differences in atmospheric forcing, ocean dynamics, ocean and ice feedbacks, or some combination of these factors. In this study, a highly simplified coupled sea ice-mixed layer model is developed to investigate the physical processes controlling this situation. Under regional atmospheric forcings and parameter choices the 10-yr simulations demonstrate a complete destratification of the Weddell Sea water column in winter, forming cold, relatively saline shelf waters, while the Amundsen Sea winter mixed layer remains shallower, allowing a layer of deep warm water to persist. Applying the Weddell atmospheric forcing to the Amundsen Sea model destratifies the water column after two years, and applying the Amundsen forcing to the Weddell Sea model results in a shallower steady-state winter mixed layer that no longer destratifies the water column. This suggests that the regional difference in atmospheric forcings alone is sufficient to account for the bimodal distribution in Antarctic shelf-sea temperatures. The model prediction of mixed layer depth is most sensitive to the air temperature forcing, but a switch in all forcings is required to prevent destratification of the Weddell Sea water column.

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The near‐surface wind field over the Antarctic continent

Cited by 63 publications

References 23 publications

Reexamination of the Near-Surface Airflow over the Antarctic Continent and Implications on Atmospheric Circulations at High Southern Latitudes*

Reexamination of the Near-Surface Airflow over the Antarctic Continent and Implications on Atmospheric Circulations at High Southern Latitudes*

Spatial and temporal variability of snow accumulation rate on the East Antarctic ice divide between Dome Fuji and EPICA DML

Impact of Atmospheric Forcing on Antarctic Continental Shelf Water Masses

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