Variations in Boundary Layer Stability Across Antarctica: A Comparison Between Coastal and Interior Sites
The range of boundary layer stability profiles, from the surface to 500 m a.g.l. (above ground level), present in radiosonde observations from two continental-interior (South Pole Station and Dome Concordia Station) and three coastal (McMurdo Station, Georg von Neumayer Station III, and Syowa Statio...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1673 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-1673/ |
id |
ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:egusphere113405 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:egusphere113405 2023-12-31T10:00:17+01:00 Variations in Boundary Layer Stability Across Antarctica: A Comparison Between Coastal and Interior Sites Dice, Mckenzie June Cassano, John Jozef, Gina Clara Seefeldt, Mark 2023-12-01 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1673 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-1673/ eng eng doi:10.5194/egusphere-2023-1673 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-1673/ eISSN: Text 2023 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1673 2023-12-04T17:24:18Z The range of boundary layer stability profiles, from the surface to 500 m a.g.l. (above ground level), present in radiosonde observations from two continental-interior (South Pole Station and Dome Concordia Station) and three coastal (McMurdo Station, Georg von Neumayer Station III, and Syowa Station) Antarctic sites, is examined using the self-organizing maps (SOMs) neural network algorithm. A wide range of potential temperature profiles is revealed, from shallow boundary layers with strong near-surface stability to deeper boundary layers with weaker or near-neutral stability, as well as profiles with weaker near-surface stability and enhanced stability aloft, above the boundary layer. Boundary layer regimes were defined based on the range of profiles revealed by the SOM analysis; 20 boundary layer regimes were identified to account for differences in stability near the surface as well as above the boundary layer. Strong, very strong, or extremely strong stability, with vertical potential temperature gradients of 5 to in excess of 30 K per 100 m, occurred more than 80 % of the time at South Pole and Dome Concordia in the winter. Weaker stability was found in the winter at the coastal sites, with moderate and strong stability (vertical potential temperature gradients of 1.75 to 15 K per 100 m) occurring 70 % to 85 % of the time. Even in the summer, moderate and strong stability is found across all five sites, either immediately near the surface or aloft, just above the boundary layer. While the mean boundary layer height at the continental-interior sites was found to be approximately 50 m, the mean boundary layer height at the coastal sites was deeper, around 110 m. Further, a commonly described two-stability-regime system in the Arctic associated with clear or cloudy conditions was applied to the 20 boundary layer regimes identified in this study to understand if the two-regime behavior is also observed in the Antarctic. It was found that moderate and strong stability occur more often with clear- than ... Text Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Arctic South pole South pole Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
op_collection_id |
ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
The range of boundary layer stability profiles, from the surface to 500 m a.g.l. (above ground level), present in radiosonde observations from two continental-interior (South Pole Station and Dome Concordia Station) and three coastal (McMurdo Station, Georg von Neumayer Station III, and Syowa Station) Antarctic sites, is examined using the self-organizing maps (SOMs) neural network algorithm. A wide range of potential temperature profiles is revealed, from shallow boundary layers with strong near-surface stability to deeper boundary layers with weaker or near-neutral stability, as well as profiles with weaker near-surface stability and enhanced stability aloft, above the boundary layer. Boundary layer regimes were defined based on the range of profiles revealed by the SOM analysis; 20 boundary layer regimes were identified to account for differences in stability near the surface as well as above the boundary layer. Strong, very strong, or extremely strong stability, with vertical potential temperature gradients of 5 to in excess of 30 K per 100 m, occurred more than 80 % of the time at South Pole and Dome Concordia in the winter. Weaker stability was found in the winter at the coastal sites, with moderate and strong stability (vertical potential temperature gradients of 1.75 to 15 K per 100 m) occurring 70 % to 85 % of the time. Even in the summer, moderate and strong stability is found across all five sites, either immediately near the surface or aloft, just above the boundary layer. While the mean boundary layer height at the continental-interior sites was found to be approximately 50 m, the mean boundary layer height at the coastal sites was deeper, around 110 m. Further, a commonly described two-stability-regime system in the Arctic associated with clear or cloudy conditions was applied to the 20 boundary layer regimes identified in this study to understand if the two-regime behavior is also observed in the Antarctic. It was found that moderate and strong stability occur more often with clear- than ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Dice, Mckenzie June Cassano, John Jozef, Gina Clara Seefeldt, Mark |
spellingShingle |
Dice, Mckenzie June Cassano, John Jozef, Gina Clara Seefeldt, Mark Variations in Boundary Layer Stability Across Antarctica: A Comparison Between Coastal and Interior Sites |
author_facet |
Dice, Mckenzie June Cassano, John Jozef, Gina Clara Seefeldt, Mark |
author_sort |
Dice, Mckenzie June |
title |
Variations in Boundary Layer Stability Across Antarctica: A Comparison Between Coastal and Interior Sites |
title_short |
Variations in Boundary Layer Stability Across Antarctica: A Comparison Between Coastal and Interior Sites |
title_full |
Variations in Boundary Layer Stability Across Antarctica: A Comparison Between Coastal and Interior Sites |
title_fullStr |
Variations in Boundary Layer Stability Across Antarctica: A Comparison Between Coastal and Interior Sites |
title_full_unstemmed |
Variations in Boundary Layer Stability Across Antarctica: A Comparison Between Coastal and Interior Sites |
title_sort |
variations in boundary layer stability across antarctica: a comparison between coastal and interior sites |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1673 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-1673/ |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Arctic South pole South pole |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Arctic South pole South pole |
op_source |
eISSN: |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/egusphere-2023-1673 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-1673/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1673 |
_version_ |
1786848022951362560 |