Eastern Antarctic Peninsula precipitation delivery mechanisms: Process studies and back trajectory evaluation

• Published in: Atmospheric Science Letters
• Main Authors: Russell, A, McGregor, GR, Marshall, GJ
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Royal Meteorological Society 2008
• Subjects: Moisture transport; ERA-40; Dolleman Island; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Dolleman; Pacific; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6009; https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.190

Copyright @ 2008 Royal Meteorological Society The atmospheric circulation patterns that result in precipitation events at a site on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula (AP) are investigated using back trajectories (BTs) driven by ERA-40 data. Moisture delivery occurs from the east and west depending on the location of blocking events in the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Observations are sparse in this region, so our process studies compare the trajectories (and the ERA-40 fields from which they were derived) with advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) satellite images. It is found that the trajectories represent these transport mechanisms very well and that they are relatively insensitive to the initial trajectory elevation.