Antarctic Operational Weather Forecasting

The United States Antarctic Program (USAP) has maintained three year-round research stations on Antarctica since the 1950's. Research conducted on the continent has taken advantage of the unique conditions afforded by Antarctica's location and climate; unfortunately, these characteristics...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Keaveney, Sean R.
Other Authors: MARYLAND UNIV COLLEGE PARK DEPT OF METEOROLOGY
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2004
Subjects:
Meteorology
*METEOROLOGICAL DATA
*WEATHER FORECASTING
*WEATHER STATIONS
*ANTARCTIC REGIONS
NATIONAL GUARD
MILITARY RESERVES
LOGISTICS SUPPORT
WEATHER
WIND
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
RESEARCH FACILITIES
VARIABLES
AIR FORCE PERSONNEL
MATHEMATICAL PREDICTION
REMOTE DETECTORS
CLIMATE
AIR FORCE OPERATIONS
ROSS SEA
SPACE BASED
*ANTARCTICA
USAP(UNITED STATES ANTARCTIC PROGRAM)
KATABATIC WINDS
OPERATION DEEP FREEZE
MESOCYCLONES
ROSS ISLAND METEOROLOGICAL EXPERIMENT
AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATIONS
Antarctic
Ross Sea
Ross Island
McMurdo Station
Antarc*
Antarctica
United States Antarctic Program
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA423766
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA423766
Description
Summary:The United States Antarctic Program (USAP) has maintained three year-round research stations on Antarctica since the 1950's. Research conducted on the continent has taken advantage of the unique conditions afforded by Antarctica's location and climate; unfortunately, these characteristics have also required an immense logistics operation by the USAP to support its researchers. Operation Deep Freeze, the airlift portion of this endeavor, is supported by units of the U.S. Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard. Flights to and around the continent require accurate operational weather forecasts to minimize the threat posed by Antarctica's harsh, highly variable weather. This paper reviews literature on significant Antarctic weather features, primarily katabatic winds and mesocyclones, around McMurdo Station, the hub of USAP aviation activities. It then describes the analysis and forecasting tools, specifically, Automatic Weather Stations, space-based remote sensing, and numerical weather prediction, used by USAP forecasters to create their weather forecasts. Problems with these tools and required improvements, including the Ross Island Meteorological Experiment, are also highlighted. The original document contains color images. All DTIC reproductions will be in black and white.

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