CloudSat-inferred vertical structure of precipitation over the Antarctic continent ...

• Main Authors: Lemonnier, Florentin, Madeleine, Jean-Baptiste, Claud, Chantal, Palerme, Cyril, Genthon, Christophe, L'Ecuyer, Tristan, Wood, Norman B
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2019
• Subjects: Antarctica; climatology; CloudSat cloud-profiling radar; precipitation; Vertical structure; Antarc*; Antarctic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.909434; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909434

Current global warming is causing significant changes in snowfall in polar regions, directly impacting the mass balance of the ice caps. The only water supply in Antarctica, precipitation, is poorly estimated from surface measurements. The onboard cloud-profiling radar of the CloudSat satellite provided the first real opportunity to estimate precipitation at continental scale. Based on CloudSat observations, we propose to explore the vertical structure of precipitation in Antarctica over the 2007-2010 period. A first division of this dataset following a topographical approach (continent versus peripheral regions, with a 2250m topographical criterion) shows a high precipitation rate (275mm/yr at 1200meters above ground level) with low relative seasonal variation (+/-11%) over the peripheral areas. Over the plateau, the precipitation rate is low (34mm/yr at 1200m.a.g.l.) with a much larger relative seasonal variation (+/-143%). A second study that follows a geographical division highlights the average vertical ... : Supplement to: Lemonnier, Florentin; Madeleine, Jean-Baptiste; Claud, Chantal; Palerme, Cyril; Genthon, Christophe; L'Ecuyer, Tristan; Wood, Norman B (2020): CloudSat‐Inferred Vertical Structure of Snowfall Over the Antarctic Continent. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 125(2), e2019JD031399 ...