The Polar Experiment (POLEX)

Weller, Gunter; Bierly, Eugene W.

doi:10.1175/1520-0477-54.3.212

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The idea of a polar experiment (POLEX) was initially introduced by Treshnikov and others (1968) and by Borisenkov and Treshnikov (1971). A summary of the early history of POLEX was recently given by Weller and Bierly (1973). The two closely related objectives of POLEX that most directly pertain to GARP may be restated in their simplest terms as (1) a better understanding of energy transfer processes and the heat budgets of the polar regions for the purpose of parameterizing them properly in general circulation models and climate models, and (2) provision of adequate data from the polar regions during the First GARP Global Experiment (FGGE) in 1978.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polar meteorology: a review of some recent research

Weller¹

1974

Polar Record

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The general large-scale circulation of the global atmosphere has its basic driving mechanism in the equator-poleward temperature gradients in both hemispheres. It has become increasingly obvious over the last few decades that to understand and predict the behaviour of the atmosphere at any point, it is essential to understand the behaviour of the total global fluid system. The Global Atmospheric Research Project (GARP) is an outcome of this recognition. Studies of the heat sinks (the polar regions) are therefore just as important as studies of the heat source (the equatorial regions) to understand the meteorology of the planet. Interest in polar meteorology has undergone many cyclic fluctuations, peaking during the various international polar years and, more recently, during the International Geophysical Year, 1957–58. At the present, the focus of GARP's first objective (improved extended weather forecasts) is on the tropical heat source, where convection and cloud formation and dissipation are still relatively little understood processes. However, the second GARP objective (better understanding of the physical basis of climate) requires more attention to be devoted to the cryosphere, its long-term interaction with oceans and atmosphere, and its role as an indicator of climatic change. The idea of a polar experiment (POLEX) was initially introduced by Treshnikov and others (1968) and by Borisenkov and Treshnikov (1971). A summary of the early history of POLEX was recently given by Weller and Bierly (1973). The two closely related objectives of POLEX that most directly pertain to GARP may be restated in their simplest terms as (1) a better understanding of energy transfer processes and the heat budgets of the polar regions for the purpose of parameterizing them properly in general circulation models and climate models, and (2) provision of adequate data from the polar regions during the First GARP Global Experiment (FGGE) in 1978.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polar meteorology: a review of some recent research

Weller¹

1974

Polar Record

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“…The recent development of numerical models for weather and climate predictions on a global scale has spurred a renewed interest in the polar regions as heat sinks for the general circulation. Ambitious observational programs such as the Polar Experiment (POLEX) have been initiated to extend our knowledge of the polar regions [Weller and Bierly, 1973]. The present study is an example of what can be done with the routinely available atmospheric data.…”

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Year-to-year variations in the energy balance of the arctic atmosphere

Oort¹

1974

J. Geophys. Res.

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In order to understand better the processes responsible for maintaining the arctic climate, a study has been made of the energy budget at high latitudes. For simplicity this study is restricted to budget calculations for a polar cap that contains almost the entire atmospheric mass north of latitude 60°N. The computations are based on 5 years of daily upper air observations of wind, temperature, geopotential height, and specific humidity for the period May 1958–April 1963, contained in the so‐called MIT general circulation library. From the hemispheric network of radiosonde stations available in the library, more than 200 stations are located north of 50°N. All these stations were used in the analyses to define the meteorological parameters in the Arctic. Averaged over the year, about 75% of the energy needed to balance radiative cooling in the polar cap is found to be transported by atmospheric processes across the southern boundary. The remaining 25% is probably supplied through a direct exchange of sensible and latent heat at the earth's surface in the polar cap. Throughout the year the influx of sensible heat plus potential energy dominates over that of latent heat. A further breakdown according to the mechanism of transfer shows that at 60°N transient and stationary disturbances are far more effective than the mean meridional circulation in transporting energy poleward. By using Budyko's values for the surface energy flux, indirect estimates could be made of the radiative heat loss in the polar cap that are in good agreement with earlier direct estimates. The computed cooling curve has an interesting asymmetry; it shows a rapid decrease of cooling from about −1.4°C/day in winter to about −0.6°C/day in May, followed by a slow increase throughout the summer and fall. The year‐to‐year variability in inflow of energy from middle latitudes seems to be large, especially during the winter half year. Since observed temperature deviations in the polar cap appear to be, on the average, a factor of 5 smaller than the variations in inflow, these deviations must be largely compensated by variations in radiative cooling or in heat supply from the earth's surface. The present evidence tends to underline the complexity of the mechanism responsible for climatic anomalies in the Arctic.

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Fast ice characteristics, with special reference to the eastern Canadian Arctic

Jacobs¹,

Barry²,

Weaver³

1975

Polar Record

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Arctic sea ice is currently receiving increasing attention, both in relation to technological problems associated with resources development and shipping (Walker and Penney, 1973), and to basic research questions. The polar pack ice in the Beaufort Sea, for example, is the focus of the Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment (AIDJEX) (Untersteiner, 1974), while an analysis of physical links between the characteristics of polar surfaces and climate is to be the crux of the United States contribution to the Polar Experiment (POLEX) (Weller and Bierly, 1973; National Academy of Sciences, 1974). A general discussion of sea ice, with emphasis on pack ice, has been presented recently by Wittman and Burkhart (1973), but another aspect of the sea ice regime deserving separate attention, particularly in the light of Arctic offshore oil developments, is the landfast or fast ice, ie that part of the sea ice which remains attached to the shore (see “Sea ice terminology”). This paper attempts to provide a broad picture of fast ice characteristics in the context of our field experience in the eastern Canadian Arctic.

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The Polar Experiment (POLEX)

Abstract: An occasional series reporting on U.S. and international GARP scientific, technical, and planning activities, developments, and programs, presented as a public service to the meteorological community by the American Meteorological Society through arrangements with the U.

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

Polar meteorology: a review of some recent research

Polar meteorology: a review of some recent research

Year-to-year variations in the energy balance of the arctic atmosphere

Fast ice characteristics, with special reference to the eastern Canadian Arctic

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