Polar low tracks over the Nordic Seas: a 14-winter climatic analysis
To develop a 14-winter (October–April; 1999–2013) climatic description of polar low (PL) occurrence for the Nordic Seas, systems have been tracked using images acquired from the Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). Also, the dominant PL characteristics – their temporal and spatial distributions,...
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Stockholm University Press
2015
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v67.24660 https://doaj.org/article/f89bf13d07e545d0bac2cc4df6b5627b |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f89bf13d07e545d0bac2cc4df6b5627b 2023-05-15T15:38:37+02:00 Polar low tracks over the Nordic Seas: a 14-winter climatic analysis Maxence Rojo Chantal Claud Paul-Etienne Mallet Gunnar Noer Andrew M. Carleton Marie Vicomte 2015-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v67.24660 https://doaj.org/article/f89bf13d07e545d0bac2cc4df6b5627b EN eng Stockholm University Press http://www.tellusa.net/index.php/tellusa/article/view/24660/pdf_23 https://doaj.org/toc/1600-0870 1600-0870 doi:10.3402/tellusa.v67.24660 https://doaj.org/article/f89bf13d07e545d0bac2cc4df6b5627b Tellus: Series A, Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography, Vol 67, Iss 0, Pp 1-20 (2015) polar low the Norwegian Sea the Barents Sea tracks weather regime sea-ice dual and multiple systems Oceanography GC1-1581 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v67.24660 2022-12-30T23:55:00Z To develop a 14-winter (October–April; 1999–2013) climatic description of polar low (PL) occurrence for the Nordic Seas, systems have been tracked using images acquired from the Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). Also, the dominant PL characteristics – their temporal and spatial distributions, size, lifespan, distance travelled, speed of propagation and directions – have been determined. On average, 14 PL events occur per winter but there is strong inter-annual and intra-seasonal variability. Although systems may form and travel over the whole Nordic Seas, their genesis is enhanced in areas characterised by warm oceanic currents. At the start of the season (October–November), systems mainly form over the Greenland and Norwegian Seas, but further into winter they form increasingly over the Barents Sea. In connection with recent low-ice winters, new areas of PL formation are evident, particularly to the west of Spitsbergen and in the Barents Sea. PL speeds of propagation range between 5 and 13 m/s but are observed to be highly variable among cases and even during the lifespan of individual PLs. To a considerable extent, the direction of movement is controlled by the large-scale flow in the lowest atmospheric layers, but we also observed cyclonic co-rotation of some pairs of PLs due to their influence on the ambient flow. Although these generally move southward or southeastward, a substantial number of PLs have westward and even northward tracks. PLs in the western part of the region average larger than their eastern counterparts. This study also highlights that PLs characteristics and tracks differ according to weather regimes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Barents Sea Greenland Nordic Seas Norwegian Sea Sea ice Spitsbergen Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Barents Sea Norwegian Sea Greenland Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography 67 1 24660 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
polar low the Norwegian Sea the Barents Sea tracks weather regime sea-ice dual and multiple systems Oceanography GC1-1581 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
spellingShingle |
polar low the Norwegian Sea the Barents Sea tracks weather regime sea-ice dual and multiple systems Oceanography GC1-1581 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Maxence Rojo Chantal Claud Paul-Etienne Mallet Gunnar Noer Andrew M. Carleton Marie Vicomte Polar low tracks over the Nordic Seas: a 14-winter climatic analysis |
topic_facet |
polar low the Norwegian Sea the Barents Sea tracks weather regime sea-ice dual and multiple systems Oceanography GC1-1581 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
description |
To develop a 14-winter (October–April; 1999–2013) climatic description of polar low (PL) occurrence for the Nordic Seas, systems have been tracked using images acquired from the Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). Also, the dominant PL characteristics – their temporal and spatial distributions, size, lifespan, distance travelled, speed of propagation and directions – have been determined. On average, 14 PL events occur per winter but there is strong inter-annual and intra-seasonal variability. Although systems may form and travel over the whole Nordic Seas, their genesis is enhanced in areas characterised by warm oceanic currents. At the start of the season (October–November), systems mainly form over the Greenland and Norwegian Seas, but further into winter they form increasingly over the Barents Sea. In connection with recent low-ice winters, new areas of PL formation are evident, particularly to the west of Spitsbergen and in the Barents Sea. PL speeds of propagation range between 5 and 13 m/s but are observed to be highly variable among cases and even during the lifespan of individual PLs. To a considerable extent, the direction of movement is controlled by the large-scale flow in the lowest atmospheric layers, but we also observed cyclonic co-rotation of some pairs of PLs due to their influence on the ambient flow. Although these generally move southward or southeastward, a substantial number of PLs have westward and even northward tracks. PLs in the western part of the region average larger than their eastern counterparts. This study also highlights that PLs characteristics and tracks differ according to weather regimes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Maxence Rojo Chantal Claud Paul-Etienne Mallet Gunnar Noer Andrew M. Carleton Marie Vicomte |
author_facet |
Maxence Rojo Chantal Claud Paul-Etienne Mallet Gunnar Noer Andrew M. Carleton Marie Vicomte |
author_sort |
Maxence Rojo |
title |
Polar low tracks over the Nordic Seas: a 14-winter climatic analysis |
title_short |
Polar low tracks over the Nordic Seas: a 14-winter climatic analysis |
title_full |
Polar low tracks over the Nordic Seas: a 14-winter climatic analysis |
title_fullStr |
Polar low tracks over the Nordic Seas: a 14-winter climatic analysis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Polar low tracks over the Nordic Seas: a 14-winter climatic analysis |
title_sort |
polar low tracks over the nordic seas: a 14-winter climatic analysis |
publisher |
Stockholm University Press |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v67.24660 https://doaj.org/article/f89bf13d07e545d0bac2cc4df6b5627b |
geographic |
Barents Sea Norwegian Sea Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Barents Sea Norwegian Sea Greenland |
genre |
Barents Sea Greenland Nordic Seas Norwegian Sea Sea ice Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
Barents Sea Greenland Nordic Seas Norwegian Sea Sea ice Spitsbergen |
op_source |
Tellus: Series A, Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography, Vol 67, Iss 0, Pp 1-20 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://www.tellusa.net/index.php/tellusa/article/view/24660/pdf_23 https://doaj.org/toc/1600-0870 1600-0870 doi:10.3402/tellusa.v67.24660 https://doaj.org/article/f89bf13d07e545d0bac2cc4df6b5627b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v67.24660 |
container_title |
Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography |
container_volume |
67 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
24660 |
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1766369770703159296 |