Met Office Unified Model high-resolution simulations of a strong wind event in Antarctica
During winter much of the Antarctic coast is susceptible to severe and hazardous strong-wind events (SWEs) associated with the enhancement of katabatic winds by synoptic weather systems. In this study a SWE that occurred at Mawson, East Antarctica, involving a hurricane force wind speed of ∼39 m s−1...
Published in: | Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society |
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ftuniveastangl:oai:ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk:50420 2023-08-27T04:06:10+02:00 Met Office Unified Model high-resolution simulations of a strong wind event in Antarctica Orr, Andrew McLean White Phillips, Tony Webster, Stuart Elvidge, Andrew Weeks, Mark Hosking, Scott Turner, John 2014-10 https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/50420/ https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2296 unknown Orr, Andrew McLean White, Phillips, Tony, Webster, Stuart, Elvidge, Andrew, Weeks, Mark, Hosking, Scott and Turner, John (2014) Met Office Unified Model high-resolution simulations of a strong wind event in Antarctica. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 140 (684). 2287–2297. ISSN 0035-9009 doi:10.1002/qj.2296 Article PeerReviewed 2014 ftuniveastangl https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2296 2023-08-10T22:32:19Z During winter much of the Antarctic coast is susceptible to severe and hazardous strong-wind events (SWEs) associated with the enhancement of katabatic winds by synoptic weather systems. In this study a SWE that occurred at Mawson, East Antarctica, involving a hurricane force wind speed of ∼39 m s−1 is simulated by the Met Office Unified Model at high horizontal resolutions with grid lengths between 12 and 1.5 km. It is shown that all the simulations capture the qualitative evolution of the SWE but underestimate its peak wind speed. The extent of the underestimate is dependent on horizontal resolution, with the 4 and 1.5 km (12 km) models underforecasting the peak wind speed by around 15% (36%). In addition to a strengthening of the katabatic flow, the simulated low-level cyclonic winds associated with the depression responsible for the SWE caused the formation of a barrier-type jet parallel to the coast, resulting in strong wind convergence/interaction at the coastline and suggesting a strong topographic influence on the dynamics responsible for SWE formation. Moreover, it suggests that Mawson is influenced by small-scale gravity waves that formed in response to the stronger winds, and that representation of this was particularly sensitive to horizontal resolution. Additional experiments suggest that the Met Office Unified Model simulation of the SWE is most sensitive to the representation of turbulent mixing under stable conditions. This study is important to identify shortcomings in the performance of the Met Office Unified Model near Antarctica's coastal regions as well as to improve understanding of the processes responsible for SWEs. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica University of East Anglia: UEA Digital Repository Antarctic The Antarctic East Antarctica Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 140 684 2287 2297 |
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University of East Anglia: UEA Digital Repository |
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description |
During winter much of the Antarctic coast is susceptible to severe and hazardous strong-wind events (SWEs) associated with the enhancement of katabatic winds by synoptic weather systems. In this study a SWE that occurred at Mawson, East Antarctica, involving a hurricane force wind speed of ∼39 m s−1 is simulated by the Met Office Unified Model at high horizontal resolutions with grid lengths between 12 and 1.5 km. It is shown that all the simulations capture the qualitative evolution of the SWE but underestimate its peak wind speed. The extent of the underestimate is dependent on horizontal resolution, with the 4 and 1.5 km (12 km) models underforecasting the peak wind speed by around 15% (36%). In addition to a strengthening of the katabatic flow, the simulated low-level cyclonic winds associated with the depression responsible for the SWE caused the formation of a barrier-type jet parallel to the coast, resulting in strong wind convergence/interaction at the coastline and suggesting a strong topographic influence on the dynamics responsible for SWE formation. Moreover, it suggests that Mawson is influenced by small-scale gravity waves that formed in response to the stronger winds, and that representation of this was particularly sensitive to horizontal resolution. Additional experiments suggest that the Met Office Unified Model simulation of the SWE is most sensitive to the representation of turbulent mixing under stable conditions. This study is important to identify shortcomings in the performance of the Met Office Unified Model near Antarctica's coastal regions as well as to improve understanding of the processes responsible for SWEs. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Orr, Andrew McLean White Phillips, Tony Webster, Stuart Elvidge, Andrew Weeks, Mark Hosking, Scott Turner, John |
spellingShingle |
Orr, Andrew McLean White Phillips, Tony Webster, Stuart Elvidge, Andrew Weeks, Mark Hosking, Scott Turner, John Met Office Unified Model high-resolution simulations of a strong wind event in Antarctica |
author_facet |
Orr, Andrew McLean White Phillips, Tony Webster, Stuart Elvidge, Andrew Weeks, Mark Hosking, Scott Turner, John |
author_sort |
Orr, Andrew McLean White |
title |
Met Office Unified Model high-resolution simulations of a strong wind event in Antarctica |
title_short |
Met Office Unified Model high-resolution simulations of a strong wind event in Antarctica |
title_full |
Met Office Unified Model high-resolution simulations of a strong wind event in Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Met Office Unified Model high-resolution simulations of a strong wind event in Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Met Office Unified Model high-resolution simulations of a strong wind event in Antarctica |
title_sort |
met office unified model high-resolution simulations of a strong wind event in antarctica |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/50420/ https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2296 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic East Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic East Antarctica |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica |
op_relation |
Orr, Andrew McLean White, Phillips, Tony, Webster, Stuart, Elvidge, Andrew, Weeks, Mark, Hosking, Scott and Turner, John (2014) Met Office Unified Model high-resolution simulations of a strong wind event in Antarctica. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 140 (684). 2287–2297. ISSN 0035-9009 doi:10.1002/qj.2296 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2296 |
container_title |
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society |
container_volume |
140 |
container_issue |
684 |
container_start_page |
2287 |
op_container_end_page |
2297 |
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1775346953626845184 |