A Climatology of Polar Low Occurrences in the Nordic Seas and an Examination of Katabatic Winds as a Triggering Mechanism
This study examines polar low formation frequency, origin region and storm tracks in the entire Nordic Sea region for a complete polar low season and identifies the prevailing synoptic situation common to polar low formation. The number of polar lows detected through TIROS-N satellite imagery betwee...
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ftdtic:ADA261719 2023-05-15T15:13:53+02:00 A Climatology of Polar Low Occurrences in the Nordic Seas and an Examination of Katabatic Winds as a Triggering Mechanism Wos, Kenneth A. NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA 1992-12 text/html http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA261719 http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA261719 en eng http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA261719 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Document partially illegible. DTIC AND NTIS Meteorology Physical and Dynamic Oceanography *OPTICAL DETECTION *WIND *STORMS *AIR WATER INTERACTIONS *CLIMATOLOGY POLAR REGIONS ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE ARCTIC REGIONS FRONTS(METEOROLOGY) CYCLOGENESIS ICELAND TROUGHS GREENLAND SEA STATES THESES VORTICES METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITES WEATHER FORECASTING SEASONAL VARIATIONS KATABATIC WINDS SATELLITE IMAGES TIROS-N SATELLITE POLAR LOWS Text 1992 ftdtic 2016-02-22T10:35:13Z This study examines polar low formation frequency, origin region and storm tracks in the entire Nordic Sea region for a complete polar low season and identifies the prevailing synoptic situation common to polar low formation. The number of polar lows detected through TIROS-N satellite imagery between September 1988 and May 1989 was significantly greater than one would expect from previous studies. Many polar lows were detected over the land areas of Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard away from a direct surface heat source. The storms detected over Greenland generally formed at the outflows of glacial valleys. To determine probable formation areas, polar lows were linearly backtracked along the reciprocal of their storm tracks. A significant number were backtracked to glacier outflows. These formation locations suggest a katabatic influence on storm formation, possibly due to vortex stretching, or the enhancement and distortion of an over-ice or over-land boundary layer baroclinic zone. Katabatic flows were examined by analyzing one month of regional surface synoptic observations and NOGAP 1000 mb height gradients. To develop aids to enhance polar low forecasting, monthly mean 1000 and 500 mb fields for chart times closest to polar low detection, or time backtracked to Northern, Central and Southern Greenland, were calculated from archived NOGAPS 12 hourly analyses and compared to the monthly averaged climatology fields of height and temperature. Text Arctic glacier glacier glacier Greenland Greenland Sea Iceland Nordic Sea Nordic Seas Svalbard Defense Technical Information Center: DTIC Technical Reports database Arctic Greenland Svalbard |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Defense Technical Information Center: DTIC Technical Reports database |
op_collection_id |
ftdtic |
language |
English |
topic |
Meteorology Physical and Dynamic Oceanography *OPTICAL DETECTION *WIND *STORMS *AIR WATER INTERACTIONS *CLIMATOLOGY POLAR REGIONS ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE ARCTIC REGIONS FRONTS(METEOROLOGY) CYCLOGENESIS ICELAND TROUGHS GREENLAND SEA STATES THESES VORTICES METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITES WEATHER FORECASTING SEASONAL VARIATIONS KATABATIC WINDS SATELLITE IMAGES TIROS-N SATELLITE POLAR LOWS |
spellingShingle |
Meteorology Physical and Dynamic Oceanography *OPTICAL DETECTION *WIND *STORMS *AIR WATER INTERACTIONS *CLIMATOLOGY POLAR REGIONS ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE ARCTIC REGIONS FRONTS(METEOROLOGY) CYCLOGENESIS ICELAND TROUGHS GREENLAND SEA STATES THESES VORTICES METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITES WEATHER FORECASTING SEASONAL VARIATIONS KATABATIC WINDS SATELLITE IMAGES TIROS-N SATELLITE POLAR LOWS Wos, Kenneth A. A Climatology of Polar Low Occurrences in the Nordic Seas and an Examination of Katabatic Winds as a Triggering Mechanism |
topic_facet |
Meteorology Physical and Dynamic Oceanography *OPTICAL DETECTION *WIND *STORMS *AIR WATER INTERACTIONS *CLIMATOLOGY POLAR REGIONS ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE ARCTIC REGIONS FRONTS(METEOROLOGY) CYCLOGENESIS ICELAND TROUGHS GREENLAND SEA STATES THESES VORTICES METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITES WEATHER FORECASTING SEASONAL VARIATIONS KATABATIC WINDS SATELLITE IMAGES TIROS-N SATELLITE POLAR LOWS |
description |
This study examines polar low formation frequency, origin region and storm tracks in the entire Nordic Sea region for a complete polar low season and identifies the prevailing synoptic situation common to polar low formation. The number of polar lows detected through TIROS-N satellite imagery between September 1988 and May 1989 was significantly greater than one would expect from previous studies. Many polar lows were detected over the land areas of Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard away from a direct surface heat source. The storms detected over Greenland generally formed at the outflows of glacial valleys. To determine probable formation areas, polar lows were linearly backtracked along the reciprocal of their storm tracks. A significant number were backtracked to glacier outflows. These formation locations suggest a katabatic influence on storm formation, possibly due to vortex stretching, or the enhancement and distortion of an over-ice or over-land boundary layer baroclinic zone. Katabatic flows were examined by analyzing one month of regional surface synoptic observations and NOGAP 1000 mb height gradients. To develop aids to enhance polar low forecasting, monthly mean 1000 and 500 mb fields for chart times closest to polar low detection, or time backtracked to Northern, Central and Southern Greenland, were calculated from archived NOGAPS 12 hourly analyses and compared to the monthly averaged climatology fields of height and temperature. |
author2 |
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA |
format |
Text |
author |
Wos, Kenneth A. |
author_facet |
Wos, Kenneth A. |
author_sort |
Wos, Kenneth A. |
title |
A Climatology of Polar Low Occurrences in the Nordic Seas and an Examination of Katabatic Winds as a Triggering Mechanism |
title_short |
A Climatology of Polar Low Occurrences in the Nordic Seas and an Examination of Katabatic Winds as a Triggering Mechanism |
title_full |
A Climatology of Polar Low Occurrences in the Nordic Seas and an Examination of Katabatic Winds as a Triggering Mechanism |
title_fullStr |
A Climatology of Polar Low Occurrences in the Nordic Seas and an Examination of Katabatic Winds as a Triggering Mechanism |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Climatology of Polar Low Occurrences in the Nordic Seas and an Examination of Katabatic Winds as a Triggering Mechanism |
title_sort |
climatology of polar low occurrences in the nordic seas and an examination of katabatic winds as a triggering mechanism |
publishDate |
1992 |
url |
http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA261719 http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA261719 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic glacier glacier glacier Greenland Greenland Sea Iceland Nordic Sea Nordic Seas Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic glacier glacier glacier Greenland Greenland Sea Iceland Nordic Sea Nordic Seas Svalbard |
op_source |
DTIC AND NTIS |
op_relation |
http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA261719 |
op_rights |
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Document partially illegible. |
_version_ |
1766344404102021120 |