Simulation of the katabatic flow near the Greenland ice margin using a high-resolution nonhydrostatic model
Simulations of the katabatic wind system in the stable boundary layer near the margin of the Greenland ice sheet are presented using the high-resolution (2.8 km) non-hydrostatic Lokal-Modell (LM) of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD). The LM is nested into numerical forecasts provided by the hydrostat...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1ef4be91233a47f08594e571f755b899 2024-09-15T18:04:30+00:00 Simulation of the katabatic flow near the Greenland ice margin using a high-resolution nonhydrostatic model Thomas Klein Günther Heinemann Patrick Gross 2001-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2001/0010-0331 https://doaj.org/article/1ef4be91233a47f08594e571f755b899 EN eng Borntraeger http://dx.doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2001/0010-0331 https://doaj.org/toc/0941-2948 0941-2948 doi:10.1127/0941-2948/2001/0010-0331 https://doaj.org/article/1ef4be91233a47f08594e571f755b899 Meteorologische Zeitschrift, Vol 10, Iss 4, Pp 331-339 (2001) Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 article 2001 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2001/0010-0331 2024-08-05T17:50:04Z Simulations of the katabatic wind system in the stable boundary layer near the margin of the Greenland ice sheet are presented using the high-resolution (2.8 km) non-hydrostatic Lokal-Modell (LM) of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD). The LM is nested into numerical forecasts provided by the hydrostatic Norwegian Limited Area Model (NORLAM). The area of Kangerlussuaq in West Greenland was selected as the LM domain, since comprehensive measurements of the katabatic wind structure are available for that area (aircraft and AWS). One focus of the LM simulations is to study processes in the transition region between the ice sheet and the tundra, which are not captured by previous model studies because of the micro-scale complexity of the topography. The first simulation is performed for an idealized case using a wintertime atmosphere at rest as initial conditions. For this situation lacking synoptic forcing, a well-developed katabatic wind system is simulated over the inland ice, while a system of fjord winds is simulated in the tundra area. In the second simulation study a realistic case of strong katabatic winds (exceeding 20 m s-1) is investigated, and AWS data and vertical profiles from aircraft measurements are used for the model validation. For this real case, the simulation results are in good agreement with instrumented aircraft and automatic weather station observations. While NORLAM fails to reproduce the wind field in the tundra region, the LM simulations show again a pattern of fjord winds and a complex wind field near the ice margin, which agrees with the observed atmospheric state. Because the intensity and the three-dimensional structure of the katabatic winds depend on the specific synoptic environment, the success of the LM simulations is also dependent on the quality of the initial and boundary conditions, i.e. the forecasts of synoptic and mesoscale processes by NORLAM. Simulationen des katabatischen Windes in der stabilen Grenzschicht am Rand des grönlandischen Eisschildes wurden mit dem ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Eisschild* Greenland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Meteorologische Zeitschrift 10 4 331 339 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
spellingShingle |
Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Thomas Klein Günther Heinemann Patrick Gross Simulation of the katabatic flow near the Greenland ice margin using a high-resolution nonhydrostatic model |
topic_facet |
Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
description |
Simulations of the katabatic wind system in the stable boundary layer near the margin of the Greenland ice sheet are presented using the high-resolution (2.8 km) non-hydrostatic Lokal-Modell (LM) of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD). The LM is nested into numerical forecasts provided by the hydrostatic Norwegian Limited Area Model (NORLAM). The area of Kangerlussuaq in West Greenland was selected as the LM domain, since comprehensive measurements of the katabatic wind structure are available for that area (aircraft and AWS). One focus of the LM simulations is to study processes in the transition region between the ice sheet and the tundra, which are not captured by previous model studies because of the micro-scale complexity of the topography. The first simulation is performed for an idealized case using a wintertime atmosphere at rest as initial conditions. For this situation lacking synoptic forcing, a well-developed katabatic wind system is simulated over the inland ice, while a system of fjord winds is simulated in the tundra area. In the second simulation study a realistic case of strong katabatic winds (exceeding 20 m s-1) is investigated, and AWS data and vertical profiles from aircraft measurements are used for the model validation. For this real case, the simulation results are in good agreement with instrumented aircraft and automatic weather station observations. While NORLAM fails to reproduce the wind field in the tundra region, the LM simulations show again a pattern of fjord winds and a complex wind field near the ice margin, which agrees with the observed atmospheric state. Because the intensity and the three-dimensional structure of the katabatic winds depend on the specific synoptic environment, the success of the LM simulations is also dependent on the quality of the initial and boundary conditions, i.e. the forecasts of synoptic and mesoscale processes by NORLAM. Simulationen des katabatischen Windes in der stabilen Grenzschicht am Rand des grönlandischen Eisschildes wurden mit dem ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thomas Klein Günther Heinemann Patrick Gross |
author_facet |
Thomas Klein Günther Heinemann Patrick Gross |
author_sort |
Thomas Klein |
title |
Simulation of the katabatic flow near the Greenland ice margin using a high-resolution nonhydrostatic model |
title_short |
Simulation of the katabatic flow near the Greenland ice margin using a high-resolution nonhydrostatic model |
title_full |
Simulation of the katabatic flow near the Greenland ice margin using a high-resolution nonhydrostatic model |
title_fullStr |
Simulation of the katabatic flow near the Greenland ice margin using a high-resolution nonhydrostatic model |
title_full_unstemmed |
Simulation of the katabatic flow near the Greenland ice margin using a high-resolution nonhydrostatic model |
title_sort |
simulation of the katabatic flow near the greenland ice margin using a high-resolution nonhydrostatic model |
publisher |
Borntraeger |
publishDate |
2001 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2001/0010-0331 https://doaj.org/article/1ef4be91233a47f08594e571f755b899 |
genre |
Eisschild* Greenland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq Tundra |
genre_facet |
Eisschild* Greenland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq Tundra |
op_source |
Meteorologische Zeitschrift, Vol 10, Iss 4, Pp 331-339 (2001) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2001/0010-0331 https://doaj.org/toc/0941-2948 0941-2948 doi:10.1127/0941-2948/2001/0010-0331 https://doaj.org/article/1ef4be91233a47f08594e571f755b899 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2001/0010-0331 |
container_title |
Meteorologische Zeitschrift |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
331 |
op_container_end_page |
339 |
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1810442000921526272 |