Wind Drainage off the High Plateau of Eastern Antarctica

Mather, K. B.; Miller, Gerald S.

doi:10.1038/209281a0

Cited by 21 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…A classical spectrum can be constructed by averaging wavelet spectra over time. Similar to the original work by Mather and Miller [1966] showing a power spectral analysis of wind speed at four stations from the coast inland to Vostok station, Figure 7 illustrates the globally averaged spectrum normalized with the mean standard deviation for the wavelet spectrum in Figure 6 at the three station along longitude 77°E. Also shown in Figure 7 are the spectra of the 500‐hPa geopotential heights calculated using the rawinsonde sounding data from three stations: Davis, Dome C and Amundsen‐Scott.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 73%

Observations of near‐surface wind and temperature structures and their variations with topography and latitude in East Antarctica

et al. 2009

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[1] The first multiyear surface meteorological observations over Dome A, the highest ice feature in the entire Antarctica continent, are analyzed to understand the surface wind, temperature, and stability climatology over Dome A and how it differs from the surface climatology at two lower-latitude/lower-elevation sites along similar longitude in East Antarctica. The climatology is also compared with that over Dome C. In contrast to the surface winds at lower sites, where moderate to strong northeasterly winds prevail with a distinct diurnal oscillation in wind speed in response to the diurnal change in katabatic forcing, summertime surface winds over Dome A are very weak, are variable in direction, and show little diurnal variation. Although both temperature and temperature gradient oscillate diurnally, the gradient over Dome A remained positive all day long, indicating a persistent surface inversion, while at the two lower sites, as well as over Dome C, sufficient insolation leads to the breakup of inversion and the development of a convective boundary layer in the afternoon. Wavelet analysis of near-surface stability revealed that besides the strong diurnal signal, the near-surface stability also exhibits annual, semiannual, and interseasonal (period $50 days) oscillations at all locations. These oscillations in near-surface stability are linked to the same peaks in the 500-hPa geopotential height spectra and therefore are believed to be caused by variations of synoptic conditions.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 73%

Observations of near‐surface wind and temperature structures and their variations with topography and latitude in East Antarctica

et al. 2009

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“…The strong seasonal and spatial variability of the katabatic winds contributes greatly to the variations of the Antarctic surface wind field. Mather and Miller [16] were some of the first to describe the katabatic winds in Eastern Antarctica. Later, diagnostic models were used to infer surface wind fields over the Antarctic continent [17][18][19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Climatology and Trend of Surface Wind Speed over Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and the Implication to Wind Energy Application

Zhong

Sun

2020

Atmosphere

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Surface wind trends and variability over Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and their implications to wind energy in the region are analyzed using the gridded ERA-Interim reanalysis data between 1979 and 2017 and the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) technique. In general, surface winds are stronger over the coastal regions of East Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains and weaker over the Ross and Ronne ice shelves and the Antarctic Peninsula; and stronger in winter and weaker in summer. Winds in the southern Indian and Pacific Oceans and along coastal regions exhibit a strong interannual variability that appears to be correlated to the Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) index. A significantly positive trend in surface wind speeds is found across most regions and about 20% and 17% of the austral autumn and summer wind trends, respectively, and less than 1% of the winter and spring wind trends may be explained by the trends in the AAO index. Except for the Antarctic Peninsula, Ronne and Ross ice shelves, and small areas in the interior East Antarctica, most of the continent is found to be suitable for the development of wind power.

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“…Terrain slopes increase from the high interior of both East and West Antarctica to the coast. Mather and Miller (1966) first estimated the mean airflow at the surface over Antarctica, depicting a radially outward drainage off the high plateau of East Antarctica. At the time of the Mather and Miller streamline map, the large-scale terrain over the East Antarctic ice sheet had not been mapped.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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Wind Drainage off the High Plateau of Eastern Antarctica

Cited by 21 publications

References 4 publications

Observations of near‐surface wind and temperature structures and their variations with topography and latitude in East Antarctica

Observations of near‐surface wind and temperature structures and their variations with topography and latitude in East Antarctica

The Climatology and Trend of Surface Wind Speed over Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and the Implication to Wind Energy Application

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

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