Case studies of the wind field around Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, using unmanned aircraft
The wind field in Arctic fjords is strongly influenced by glaciers, local orography and the interaction between sea and land. Ny-Ålesund, an important location for atmospheric research in the Arctic, is located in Kongsfjorden, a fjord with a complex local wind field that influences measurements in...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2022
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7884 https://doaj.org/article/bde9f253b6444ad9a7d72df0fdb8affb |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:bde9f253b6444ad9a7d72df0fdb8affb 2023-05-15T14:55:48+02:00 Case studies of the wind field around Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, using unmanned aircraft Martin Schön Irene Suomi Barbara Altstädter Bram van Kesteren Kjell zum Berge Andreas Platis Birgit Wehner Astrid Lampert Jens Bange 2022-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7884 https://doaj.org/article/bde9f253b6444ad9a7d72df0fdb8affb EN eng Norwegian Polar Institute https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/7884/14996 https://doaj.org/toc/0800-0395 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v41.7884 https://doaj.org/article/bde9f253b6444ad9a7d72df0fdb8affb Polar Research, Vol 41, Pp 1-15 (2022) microscale meteorology boundary layer wind measurement aircraft measurement kongsfjorden arctic fjord Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7884 2022-12-30T19:27:21Z The wind field in Arctic fjords is strongly influenced by glaciers, local orography and the interaction between sea and land. Ny-Ålesund, an important location for atmospheric research in the Arctic, is located in Kongsfjorden, a fjord with a complex local wind field that influences measurements in Ny-Ålesund. Using wind measurements from UAS (unmanned aircraft systems), ground measurements, radiosonde and reanalysis data, characteristic processes that determine the wind field around Ny-Ålesund are identified and analysed. UAS measurements and ground measurements show, as did previous studies, a south-east flow along Kongsfjorden, dominating the wind conditions in Ny-Ålesund. The wind measured by the UAS in a valley 1 km west of Ny-Ålesund differs from the wind measured at the ground in Ny-Ålesund. In this valley, we identify a small-scale catabatic flow from the south to south-west as the cause for this difference. Case studies show a backing (counterclockwise rotation with increasing altitude) of the wind direction close to the ground. A katabatic flow is measured near the ground, with a horizontal wind speed up to 5 m s-1. Both the larger-scale south-east flow along the fjord and the local katabatic flows lead to a highly variable wind field, so ground measurements and weather models alone give an incomplete picture. The comparison of UAS measurements, ground measurements and weather conditions analysis using a synoptic model is used to show that the effects measured in the case studies play a role in the Ny-Ålesund wind field in spring. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Polar Research Svalbard Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Ny-Ålesund Svalbard Polar Research |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
microscale meteorology boundary layer wind measurement aircraft measurement kongsfjorden arctic fjord Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
microscale meteorology boundary layer wind measurement aircraft measurement kongsfjorden arctic fjord Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 Martin Schön Irene Suomi Barbara Altstädter Bram van Kesteren Kjell zum Berge Andreas Platis Birgit Wehner Astrid Lampert Jens Bange Case studies of the wind field around Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, using unmanned aircraft |
topic_facet |
microscale meteorology boundary layer wind measurement aircraft measurement kongsfjorden arctic fjord Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
The wind field in Arctic fjords is strongly influenced by glaciers, local orography and the interaction between sea and land. Ny-Ålesund, an important location for atmospheric research in the Arctic, is located in Kongsfjorden, a fjord with a complex local wind field that influences measurements in Ny-Ålesund. Using wind measurements from UAS (unmanned aircraft systems), ground measurements, radiosonde and reanalysis data, characteristic processes that determine the wind field around Ny-Ålesund are identified and analysed. UAS measurements and ground measurements show, as did previous studies, a south-east flow along Kongsfjorden, dominating the wind conditions in Ny-Ålesund. The wind measured by the UAS in a valley 1 km west of Ny-Ålesund differs from the wind measured at the ground in Ny-Ålesund. In this valley, we identify a small-scale catabatic flow from the south to south-west as the cause for this difference. Case studies show a backing (counterclockwise rotation with increasing altitude) of the wind direction close to the ground. A katabatic flow is measured near the ground, with a horizontal wind speed up to 5 m s-1. Both the larger-scale south-east flow along the fjord and the local katabatic flows lead to a highly variable wind field, so ground measurements and weather models alone give an incomplete picture. The comparison of UAS measurements, ground measurements and weather conditions analysis using a synoptic model is used to show that the effects measured in the case studies play a role in the Ny-Ålesund wind field in spring. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Martin Schön Irene Suomi Barbara Altstädter Bram van Kesteren Kjell zum Berge Andreas Platis Birgit Wehner Astrid Lampert Jens Bange |
author_facet |
Martin Schön Irene Suomi Barbara Altstädter Bram van Kesteren Kjell zum Berge Andreas Platis Birgit Wehner Astrid Lampert Jens Bange |
author_sort |
Martin Schön |
title |
Case studies of the wind field around Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, using unmanned aircraft |
title_short |
Case studies of the wind field around Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, using unmanned aircraft |
title_full |
Case studies of the wind field around Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, using unmanned aircraft |
title_fullStr |
Case studies of the wind field around Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, using unmanned aircraft |
title_full_unstemmed |
Case studies of the wind field around Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, using unmanned aircraft |
title_sort |
case studies of the wind field around ny-ålesund, svalbard, using unmanned aircraft |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7884 https://doaj.org/article/bde9f253b6444ad9a7d72df0fdb8affb |
geographic |
Arctic Ny-Ålesund Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Ny-Ålesund Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Polar Research Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Polar Research Svalbard |
op_source |
Polar Research, Vol 41, Pp 1-15 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/7884/14996 https://doaj.org/toc/0800-0395 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v41.7884 https://doaj.org/article/bde9f253b6444ad9a7d72df0fdb8affb |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.7884 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
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1766327816512602112 |