Katabatic winds and polynya dynamics at Coats Land, Antarctica
Abstract Mesoscale model simulations were conducted for the Weddell Sea region for the autumn and winter periods of 2008 using a high-resolution, limited-area, non-hydrostatic atmospheric model. A sea ice–ocean model was run with enhanced horizontal resolution and high-resolution forcing data of the...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0954102013000679 2024-06-23T07:47:50+00:00 Katabatic winds and polynya dynamics at Coats Land, Antarctica Ebner, Lars Heinemann, Günther Haid, Verena Timmermann, Ralph 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102013000679 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102013000679 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Antarctic Science volume 26, issue 3, page 309-326 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 journal-article 2013 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102013000679 2024-06-05T04:03:58Z Abstract Mesoscale model simulations were conducted for the Weddell Sea region for the autumn and winter periods of 2008 using a high-resolution, limited-area, non-hydrostatic atmospheric model. A sea ice–ocean model was run with enhanced horizontal resolution and high-resolution forcing data of the atmospheric model. Daily passive thermal and microwave satellite data was used to derive the polynya area in the Weddell Sea region. The focus of the study is on the formation of polynyas in the coastal region of Coats Land, which is strongly affected by katabatic flows. The polynya areas deduced from two independent remote sensing methods and data sources show good agreement, while the results of the sea ice simulation show some weaknesses. Linkages between the pressure gradient force composed of a katabatic and a synoptic component, offshore wind regimes and polynya area are identified. It is shown that the downslope surface offshore wind component of Coats Land is the main forcing factor for polynya dynamics, which is mainly steered by the offshore pressure gradient force, where the katabatic force is the dominant term. We find that the synoptic pressure gradient is opposed to the katabatic force during major katabatic wind events. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Science Antarctica Sea ice Weddell Sea Cambridge University Press Coats Land ENVELOPE(-27.500,-27.500,-77.000,-77.000) Weddell Weddell Sea Antarctic Science 26 3 309 326 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Mesoscale model simulations were conducted for the Weddell Sea region for the autumn and winter periods of 2008 using a high-resolution, limited-area, non-hydrostatic atmospheric model. A sea ice–ocean model was run with enhanced horizontal resolution and high-resolution forcing data of the atmospheric model. Daily passive thermal and microwave satellite data was used to derive the polynya area in the Weddell Sea region. The focus of the study is on the formation of polynyas in the coastal region of Coats Land, which is strongly affected by katabatic flows. The polynya areas deduced from two independent remote sensing methods and data sources show good agreement, while the results of the sea ice simulation show some weaknesses. Linkages between the pressure gradient force composed of a katabatic and a synoptic component, offshore wind regimes and polynya area are identified. It is shown that the downslope surface offshore wind component of Coats Land is the main forcing factor for polynya dynamics, which is mainly steered by the offshore pressure gradient force, where the katabatic force is the dominant term. We find that the synoptic pressure gradient is opposed to the katabatic force during major katabatic wind events. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ebner, Lars Heinemann, Günther Haid, Verena Timmermann, Ralph |
spellingShingle |
Ebner, Lars Heinemann, Günther Haid, Verena Timmermann, Ralph Katabatic winds and polynya dynamics at Coats Land, Antarctica |
author_facet |
Ebner, Lars Heinemann, Günther Haid, Verena Timmermann, Ralph |
author_sort |
Ebner, Lars |
title |
Katabatic winds and polynya dynamics at Coats Land, Antarctica |
title_short |
Katabatic winds and polynya dynamics at Coats Land, Antarctica |
title_full |
Katabatic winds and polynya dynamics at Coats Land, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Katabatic winds and polynya dynamics at Coats Land, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Katabatic winds and polynya dynamics at Coats Land, Antarctica |
title_sort |
katabatic winds and polynya dynamics at coats land, antarctica |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102013000679 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102013000679 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-27.500,-27.500,-77.000,-77.000) |
geographic |
Coats Land Weddell Weddell Sea |
geographic_facet |
Coats Land Weddell Weddell Sea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Science Antarctica Sea ice Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Science Antarctica Sea ice Weddell Sea |
op_source |
Antarctic Science volume 26, issue 3, page 309-326 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102013000679 |
container_title |
Antarctic Science |
container_volume |
26 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
309 |
op_container_end_page |
326 |
_version_ |
1802638025773023232 |