The Concordiasi Project in Antarctica

• Published in: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
• Main Authors: Rabier, Florence, Bouchard, Aurélie, Brun, Eric, Doerenbecher, Alexis, Guedj, Stéphanie, Guidard, Vincent, Karbou, Fatima, Peuch, V.H., El Amraoui, Laaziz, Puech, Dominique, Genthon, Christophe, Picard, Ghislain, Town, Michael, Hertzog, Albert, Vial, François, Cocquerez, P., Cohn, S. A., Hock, Terry, Fox, Jack, Cole, Hal, Parsons, David, Powers, Jordan, Romberg, Keith, Vanandel, Joseph, Deshler, Terry, Mercer, Jennifer, Haase, Jennifer S., Avallone, Linnea, Kalnajs, Lars, Mechoso, C. Roberto, Tangborn, A., Pellegrini, Andrea, Frenot, Yves, Thépaut, Jean-Noël, Mcnally, Anthony, Balsamo, G., Steinle, P.
• Other Authors: Groupe d'étude de l'atmosphère météorologique (CNRM-GAME), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Météo France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), CLIPS, Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-École polytechnique (X)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES), NCAR/Atmospheric Technology Division, P.O. Box 3000, Department of Atmospheric Science Laramie, University of Wyoming (UW), Purdue Climate Change Research Center, Purdue University West Lafayette, University of Colorado Boulder, UCLA Vision Lab, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), University of California-University of California, Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology Baltimore (JCET), University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), University of Maryland System-University of Maryland System-NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), PNRA, Institut Polaire (IP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research (CAWCR)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2010
• Subjects: Antarctica; Satellite observations; Data assimilation; Numerical weather prediction; Radiosonde observations; rabier; bouchard; brun; doerenbecher; Guedj; Guidard; Karbou; peuch; el amraoui; and puech-CnrM/GaMe Florence rabier; CnrM; 42 av Coriolis; [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Austral; McMurdo Station; Concordia Station; Bouchard; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00562459; https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00562459/document; https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00562459/file/%5B15200477%20-%20Bulletin%20of%20the%20American%20Meteorological%20Society%5D%20The%20Concordiasi%20Project%20in%20Antarctica.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1175/2009BAMS2764.1

International audience The Concordiasi project is making innovative observations of the atmosphere above Antarctica. The most important goals of the Concordiasi are as follows: 1. To enhance the accuracy of weather prediction and climate records in Antarctica through the assimilation of in situ and satellite data, with an emphasis on data provided by hyperspectral infrared sounders. The focus is on clouds, precipitation, and the mass budget of the ice sheets. The improvements in dynamical model analyses and forecasts will be used in chemical-transport models that describe the links between the polar vortex dynamics and ozone depletion, and to advance the understanding of the Earth system by examining the interactions between Antarctica and lower latitudes. 2. To improve our understanding of microphysical and dynamical processes controlling the polar ozone, by providing the first quasi-Lagrangian observations of stratospheric ozone and particles, in addition to an improved characterization of the 3D polar vortex dynamics. Techniques for assimilating these Lagrangian observations are being developed. A major Concordiasi component is a field experiment during the austral springs of 2008-10. The field activities in 2010 are based on a constellation of up to 18 long-duration stratospheric super-pressure balloons (SPBs) deployed from the McMurdo station. Six of these balloons will carry GPS receivers and in situ instruments measuring temperature, pressure, ozone, and particles. Twelve of the balloons will release drop-sondes on demand for measuring atmospheric parameters. Lastly, radiosounding measurements are collected at various sites, including the Concordia station.