Controlled Meteorological (CMET) Free Balloon Profiling of the Arctic Atmospheric Boundary Layer Around Spitsbergen Compared to ERA-Interim and Arctic System Reanalyses

• Main Authors: Roberts, Tjarda J., Dütsch, Marina, Hole, Lars R., Voss, Paul
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Smith ScholarWorks 2016
• Subjects: Engineering; Arctic; Ny-Ålesund; Svalbard; Ny Ålesund; Sea ice; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.smith.edu/egr_facpubs/12; https://scholarworks.smith.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=egr_facpubs

Observations from CMET (Controlled Meteo- rological) balloons are analysed to provide insights into tropospheric meteorological conditions (temperature, hu- midity, wind) around Svalbard, European High Arctic. Five Controlled Meteorological (CMET) balloons were launched from Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard (Spitsbergen) over 5–12 May 2011 and measured vertical atmospheric profiles over coastal areas to both the east and west. One notable CMET flight achieved a suite of 18 continuous soundings that probed the Arctic marine boundary layer (ABL) over a period of more than 10 h. Profiles from two CMET flights are compared to model output from ECMWF Era-Interim reanal- ysis (ERA-I) and to a high-resolution (15 km) Arctic System Reanalysis (ASR) product. To the east of Svalbard over sea ice, the CMET observed a stable ABL profile with a temper- ature inversion that was reproduced by ASR but not captured by ERA-I. In a coastal ice-free region to the west of Svalbard, the CMET observed a stable ABL with strong wind shear. The CMET profiles document increases in ABL temperature and humidity that are broadly reproduced by both ASR and ERA-I. The ASR finds a more stably stratified ABL than observed but captured the wind shear in contrast to ERA- I. Detailed analysis of the coastal CMET-automated sound- ings identifies small-scale temperature and humidity varia- tions with a low-level flow and provides an estimate of local wind fields. We demonstrate that CMET balloons are a valu- able approach for profiling the free atmosphere and boundary layer in remote regions such as the Arctic, where few other in situ observations are available for model validation.