The katabatic wind regime at Adelie Land, Antarctica

• Published in: International Journal of Climatology
• Main Authors: Parish, Thomas R., Wendler, Gerd
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1991
• Subjects: Antarctic; East Antarctica; Denison; Cape Denison; Adelie Land; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370110108; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjoc.3370110108; https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.3370110108

Abstract The coastal sections of Adelie Land in East Antarctica experience the strongest and most persistent slope (katabatic) winds recorded about the continental periphery. The area was first explored during Mawson's 1911–14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition; the annual average surface wind speed at the base camp of Cape Denison was approximately 20 m s −1 during the course of the 2‐year stay in Antarctica. Field traverses conducted by the Mawson group and the subsequent establishment of additional bases and more recent deployment of automatic weather stations suggest that the zone of extreme katabatic winds is not confined to the Cape Denison site, but rather, extends several hundred kilometres inland from the coast and at least 60 km west along the coast. Numerical simulations of the Adelie Land katabatic wind regime have been conducted using a primitive equation three‐dimensional model. Results confirm the extreme wind conditions over the Adelie Land region and strongly suggest that the confluence of cold air drainage currents from the interior towards Adelie Land is responsible for the anomalous katabatic wind intensity.