Present and future near-surface wind climate of Greenland from high resolution regional climate modelling

The present and twenty-first century near-surface wind climate of Greenland is presented using output from the regional atmospheric climate model RACMO2. The modelled wind variability and wind distribution compare favourably to observations from three automatic weather stations in the ablation zone of southwest Greenland. The Weibull shape parameter is used to classify the wind climate. High values (κ > 4) are found in northern Greenland, indicative of uniform winds and a dominant katabatic forcing, while lower values (κ < 3) are found over the ocean and southern Greenland, where the synoptic forcing dominates. Very high values of the shape parameter are found over concave topography where confluence strengthens the katabatic circulation, while very low values are found in a narrow band along the coast due to barrier winds. To simulate the future (2081–2098) wind climate RACMO2 was forced with the HadGEM2-ES general circulation model using a scenario of mid-range radiative forcing of +4.5 W m^?2 by 2100. For the future simulated climate, the near-surface potential temperature deficit reduces in all seasons in regions where the surface temperature is below the freezing point, indicating a reduction in strength of the near-surface temperature inversion layer. This leads to a wind speed reduction over the central ice sheet where katabatic forcing dominates, and a wind speed increase over steep coastal topography due to counteracting effects of thermal and katabatic forcing. Thermally forced winds over the seasonally sea ice covered region of the Greenland Sea are reduced by up to 2.5 m s^?1.     

The influence of large-scale forcing on the katabatic wind regime at Adélie Land,Antarctica

Summary The Adélie Land coastal section of East Antarctica is known for strong katabatic winds. Although the primary forcing of these persistent drainage flows has been attributed to the radiative cooling of the sloping ice topography, effects of ambient horizontal pressure gradients can play a central role in shaping the Antarctic surface wind regime as well. Oberrvations of the katabatic wind at the near-coastal Adélie Land station D-10 have been sorted into strong and weak wind classes. Concurrent radiosonde ascents at nearby Dumont D'Urville have been used to depict the timeaveraged large scale conditions accompanying the katabatic wind classes. Results suggest that strong katabatic wind cases are associated with low pressure over the coastal margin and easterly upper level motions. Numerical simulations have been conducted to examine the effect of prescribed large scale forcing on the evolution of the katabatic wind. The model runs indicate that the ambient environment plays a key role in the development and intensity of the katabatic wind regime.With 7 Figures     

Heat,momentum and moisture budgets of the katabatic layer over the melting zone of the west Greenland ice sheet in summer

The budgets of momentum, heat and moisture of the atmospheric boundary layer overlying the melting zone of the west Greenland ice sheet during an 8-day period in summer are calculated. To do so, the governing budget equations are derived and presented in terms of vertically averaged quantities. Moreover, stationarity is assumed in the present study. Measurements collected during the GIMEX-91 experiment are used to calculate the contribution of the different terms in the equations to the budget.During summer, a well developed katabatic wind system is present over the melting zone of the Greenland ice sheet. The budgets show that advection in the katabatic layer is small for momentum, heat and humidity, when the horizontal length scale of the integration area is sufficiently large (>50 km). This indicates that in principle one-dimensional atmospheric models can be used to study the boundary layer over the melting zone of the Greenland ice sheet. The background stratification plays a crucial role in the heat and moisture budget. Vertical divergence of longwave radiation provides one-third and the turbulent flux of sensible heat the rest of the cooling of the boundary layer. Moisture is added to the boundary layer by evaporation which is a significant term in the moisture budget. Negative buoyancy (katabatic forcing) dominates the momentum budget in the downslope direction. Coriolis forcing is important, stressing the large spatial scale of the katabatic winds on the Greenland ice sheet.     

Convective Snowfalls Linked to the Interaction of a Boundary-Layer Front with a Mesoscale Cyclone Near Terra Nova Bay,Antarctica

During the XXII Italian expedition in Antarctica, in the summer of 2007, severe weather conditions associated with deep convective instability and heavy coastal precipitation occurred around the Terra Nova Bay area in the presence of an upper level trough and energetic katabatic winds flowing from the Ross Ice Shelf over the open sea. In this case study we document an example of boundary-layer frontal movement across the Ross Sea and mesocyclone development in conjunction with the frontal movement. A westward fast moving boundary-layer front, generated by the leftward turning katabatic airstream to the east of Ross Island, was observed propagating as a baroclinic wave disturbance in an easterly direction across the Ross Sea, merging later with a mesocyclone approaching Terra Nova Bay from offshore. The observed inertial trajectory and an estimation of the radius of curvature suggest that the vigorous katabatic airstream was sustained by the strengthening of a surface mesocyclonic circulation settled over the north-eastern Ross Ice Shelf, triggered by a sub-synoptic upper level trough passing over the area. We hypothesise that baroclinic instability in the low levels plays an important role in the development of a mesoscale vortex and for triggering convective precipitation.     

Influence of the orographic roughness of glacier valleys across the Transantarctic Mountains in an atmospheric regional model

Glacier valleys across the Transantarctic Mountains are not properly taken into account in climate models, because of their coarse resolution. Nonetheless, glacier valleys control katabatic winds in this region, and the latter are thought to affect the climate of the Ross Sea sector, frsater formation to snow mass balance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the production of turbulent kinetic energy by the subgrid-scale orography in the Transantarctic Mountains using a 20-km atmospheric regional model. A classical orographic roughness length parametrization is modified to produce either smooth or rough valleys. A one-year simulation shows that katabatic winds in the Transantarctic Mountains are strongly improved using smooth valleys rather than rough valleys. Pressure and temperature fields are affected by the representation of the orographic roughness, specifically in the Transantarctic Mountains and over the Ross Ice Shelf. A smooth representation of escarpment regions shows better agreement with automatic weather station observations than a rough representation. This work stresses the need to improve the representation of subgrid-scale orography to simulate realistic katabatic flows. This paper also provides a way of improving surface winds in an atmospheric model without increasing its resolution.     

Preliminary study on vertical velocity caused by katabatic wind in Antarctica and its influence on atmospheric circulation

The vertical velocity at the top of Ekman layer caused by katabatic winds is proposed and deduced. By com-puting actual data we jet a distribution of the velocities over Antarctica. The distribution plays a positive role in maintaining the cyclone and anticyclone over Antarctica.     

The KABEG’97 field experiment: An aircraft-based study of katabatic wind dynamics over the Greenland ice sheet

The aircraft-based experiment KABEG97 (Katabatic wind and boundary-layer front experiment around Greenland) was performed in April/May 1997. During the experiment, surface stations were installed at five positions on the ice sheet and in the tundra near Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland. A total of nine katabatic wind flights were performed during quite different synoptic situations and surface conditions, and low-level jets with wind speeds up to 25m s^-1 were measured under strong synoptic forcing of the katabatic wind system. The KABEG data represent a unique data set for the investigation of katabatic winds. For the first time, high-resolution and accurate aircraft measurements can be used to investigate the three-dimensional structure of the katabatic wind system for a variety of synoptic situations.Surface station data show that a pronounced daily cycle of the near-surface wind is present for almost all days due to the nighttime development of the katabatic wind. In a detailed case study the stably-stratified boundary layer over the ice and the complex boundary-layer structure in the transition zone ice/tundra are investigated. The katabatic wind system is found to extend about 10 km over the tundra area and is associated with strong wind convergence and gravity waves. The investigation of the boundary-layer dynamics using the concept of a two-layer katabatic wind model yields the results that the katabatic flow is always a shooting flow and that the pure katabatic force is the main driving mechanism for the flow regime, although a considerable influence of the large-scale synoptic forcing is found as well.     

Water temperature variations off the Sakhalin coast from the data of instrumental observations

The data of instrumental observations of water temperature at autonomous bottom stations in the coastal zone of Sakhalin Island (the depth is 3-17 m) mainly along the southeastern coast are analyzed. The cases of sharp (by 15°C per day) temperature drop are detected. They are caused by the strengthening of southern and southwestern winds typtcal of summer and betng the offshore winds which favor the lift of cold water to the surface. This phenomenon is observed every year but its intensity varies depending on the frequency of offshore winds. Along the southwestern coast of Sakhalin, where the offshore effect is induced by northern, northeastern, and eastern winds characterized by the low frequency of occurrence, water temperature drops are rarer and shorter (3-5 days) but rather sharp. The occurrence of cold water (its temperature is sometimes negative) in the shallow coastal zone may lead to the mass mortality of juvenile salmon after its downstream migration in spawning rivers, may impede the approaches of humpback salmon and negatively affect its catch.     

Patterns of weak,near-surface winds at Melbourne,Australia

Up to 30 months of near-surface anemograph records have been examined from 13 locations in and near Melbourne, Australia, to determine the wind patterns which existed during prolonged periods of light winds (at least 3 hours at 2 m s^-1 or less). A coherent katabatic wind system was found to develop in at least part of the monitored region on approximately 30% of nights. The flow broadly followed the slope of the basin surrounding the city, with a strong flow down the main river valley, and was partly reinforced by a land breeze in bayside areas. Other valleys also acted as channels for these winds. The general tendency of these katabatic winds was to converge towards the central business district and the northern part of Port Phillip Bay adjacent to the city centre. Where winds from different directions interacted, one of the winds dominated or successive replacement occurred causing the wind direction to vary considerably during a period.There were indications that in the presence of low-level stability with a synoptic gradient wind between east and north, the gradient flow may be deflected around the major topographic barrier to the northeast of the city. The existence of such a situation would have major implications in terms of air quality due to the possibility of pollutants being recirculated in conditions when vertical diffusion was very limited.     

Temperature And Wind Velocity Oscillations Along a Gentle Slope During Sea-Breeze Events

The flow structure on a gentle slope at Vallon dOl in the northern suburbs of Marseille in southern France has been documented by means of surface wind and temperature measurements collected from 7 June to 14 July 2001 during the ESCOMPTE experiment. The analysis of the time series reveals temperature and wind speed oscillations during several nights (about 60--90 min oscillation period) and several days (about 120–180 min oscillation period) during the whole observing period. Oscillating katabatic winds have been reported in the literature from theoretical, experimental and numerical studies. In the present study, the dynamics of the observed oscillating katabatic winds are in good agreement with the theory.In contrast to katabatic winds, no daytime observations of oscillating anabatic upslope flows have ever been published to our knowledge, probably because of temperature inversion break-up that inhibits upslope winds. The present paper shows that cold air advection by a sea breeze generates a mesoscale horizontal temperature gradient, and hence baroclinicity in the atmosphere, which then allows low-frequency oscillations, similar to a katabatic flow. An expression for the oscillation period is derived that accounts for the contribution of the sea-breeze induced mesoscale horizontal temperature gradient. The theoretical prediction of the oscillation period is compared to the measurements, and good agreement is found. The statistical analysis of the wind flow at Vallon dOl shows a dominant north-easterly to easterly flow pattern for nighttime oscillations and a dominant south-westerly flow pattern for daytime oscillations. These results are consistent with published numerical simulation results that show that the air drains off the mountain along the maximum slope direction, which in the studied case is oriented south-west to north-east.     

Thermohaline water structure on the southwestern Chukchi Sea shelf under conditions of opposite regimes of atmospheric circulation in summer periods of 2003 and 2007

The results of two oceanographic surveys, carried out by TINRO-Center in August 2003 and 2007 in the southwestern part of the Chukchi Sea under conditions of opposite regimes of atmospheric circulation in the Eastern Arctic, are given. A stationary anticyclone with the center over the Beaufort Sea in 2007 favored the transport of warm air masses to the Arctic basin and more rapid ice melting. The surface layer temperature to the east of Wrangel Island reached 12°C (6–8°C above the normal). The upwelling of bottom waters was registered in the coastal zone due to the southeastern winds, the Siberian coastal current was not observed. In summer 2003, on the contrary, the cyclonic circulation type prevailed over the eastern seas of the Arctic, the northwestern winds in the coastal zone favored the spreading of the Siberian coastal current almost up to Bering Strait, the water temperature was 2–3°C below normal. The coastal thermal front was formed in both situations: in the first case, due to upwelling, in the second case, due to the spreading of cold coastal desalinated East Siberian waters.     

Influence of Topography and Large-scale Forcing on the Occurrence of Katabatic Flow Jumps in Antarctica： Idealized Simulations

The Regional Atmospheric Modeling System （RAMS）, which is a non-hydrostatic numerical model, has been used to investigate the impact of terrain shape and large-scale forcing on the Antarctic surface-wind regime, focusing on their roles in establishing favorable flow conditions for the formation of katabatic flow jumps. A series of quasi-2D numerical simulations were conducted over idealized slopes representing the slopes of Antarctica during austral winter conditions. Results indicate that the steepness and variations of the underlying slope play a role in the evolution of near-surface flows and thus the formation of katabatic flow jumps. However, large-scale forcing has a more noticeable effect on the occurrence of this small-scale phenomenon by establishing essential upstream and downstream flow conditions, including the upstream supercritical flow, the less stably stratified or unstable layer above the cold katabatic layer, as well as the cold-air pool located near the foot of the slope through an interaction with the underlying topography. Thus, the areas with steep and abrupt change in slopes, e.g. near the coastal areas of the eastern Antarctic, are preferred locations for the occurrence of katabatic flow jumps, especially under supporting synoptic conditions.     

Structure and Dynamics of Katabatic Flow Jumps: Idealised Simulations

For the first time, results from a high-resolution numerical simulation (with horizontal grid spacing of 35m) were used to reveal the detailed structure near an atmospheric katabatic jump over an idealized slope. The simulation represents flow over the slopes of Coats Land, Antarctica for austral winter conditions. The katabatic jump is characterised by an updraft with vertical velocities of order 1ms⁻¹ and serves as a possible forcing mechanism for the gravity waves frequently observed over the ice shelves around the Antarctic. Results also indicate that strong turbulence is generally confined within a mixing zone near the top of the katabatic layer upstream of the jump and extends downstream through the top of the strong updraft associated with the jump. Detailed analyses of momentum and heat budgets across the katabatic jump indicate that, upstream of the jump, turbulent mixing is important in decelerating the upper part of the katabatic layer, while within the jump the upslope pressure gradient force associated with the pool of cold air plays a role in decelerating the flow near the surface. The heat budget near the jump reveals a simple two-term balance: the turbulent heat flux divergence is balanced by the advection. A comparison of model results with available theories indicates that mixing between layers of different potential temperature structure indeed plays some role in the development of katabatic flow jumps, especially for strong jumps. Theories used to study katabatic jumps should include this mixing process, of which the amount depends on the intensity of the jump. A conceptual model of a katabatic jump, including the main dynamical processes, is constructed from these detailed analyses.     

Local Winds In A Valley City

Local winds were studied around a valley city, by using a high resolution two-dimensional mesoscale model forced by surface temperatures from a measurement campaign around Lanzhou City, China, during stagnant conditions. In the simulations nighttime winds are purely katabatic downslope winds without urban effects, despite the fact that the city is 6–7°C warmer than its surroundings all night. In contrast, daytime near-surface winds result from upslope flow resisted by an opposing simultaneous urban heat-island circulation (UHIC). Hence winds remain weak and variable around a city in a narrow valley during daytime. These conditions may lead to severe air quality problems day and night.The local circulations are sensitive to the widths of the valley and/or city,and also latitude, as is demonstrated by model experiments. Interestingly, in a flat and calm environment an extratropical daytime UHIC cell may turn into a weak `anti-UHIC' by the morning, due to frictional decoupling after sunset and subsequent inertial oscillation during the night, analogously tothe land breeze and nocturnal low-level jet formation.     

Effects of stability on the profiles of vertical velocity and its variance in katabatic flow

The atmospheric katabatic flow in the foothills of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains has been monitored by a network of towers and sodars for several years as part of the Atmospheric Studies in COmplex Terrain (ASCOT) program. We used three years of data from the network to explore the dependence on surface cooling and channeling by winds above the canyon of (1) profiles of the mean and variance of the vertical (perpendicular to the geopotential) component of motion and (2) the mean component of the wind perpendicular to the local terrain of Coal Creek Canyon. Previously we found that the magnitude of the near-surface temperature difference decreases with increasing surface cooling in light winds, apparently because of increasing turbulence caused when increasing drainage winds interact with surface topography. The variance of vertical velocity exhibits three types of vertical profiles, corresponding to different cooling rates and external wind speeds. The mean variance was found to depend strongly on a locally derived Richardson number.     

Diurnal Variations of the Temperature and Their Influenceon Wind Regime in a Confluence Zone of Antarctica

Summary The behaviour of the wind field at the confluence zone of Terra Nova Bay during a transition period from winter to summer is considered. To explain some observed features the influence of diurnal variations are considered to integrate and complete the analysis based on annual and seasonal variations. Diurnal variations in the buoyancy difference between two main air masses coming from the Revees and Priestley glaciers are assumed to contribute to diurnal alteration of the wind direction at the Nansen ice sheet. The data recorded at three automatic weather stations (AWS) available that period are analysed. Using the wavelet analysis procedure, it is shown that the contribution of one-day variations of some basic meteorological parameters and their gradients (in particular of temperature and pressure) is important and comparable with synoptic ones. On the base of the diurnal variations some aspects of the local circulation have been explained. The basis for the further studies related to the evolution of katabatic winds in this area are also presented. Received August 3, 1998 Revised March 12, 1999     

Evaluation of the antarctic surface wind climate from ERA reanalyses and RACMO2/ANT simulations based on automatic weather stations

A continental scale evaluation of Antarctic surface winds is presented from global ERA-40 and ERA-Interim reanalyses and RACMO2/ANT regional climate model at 55 and 27 km horizontal resolution, based on a comparison with observational data from 115 automatic weather stations (AWS). The Antarctic surface wind climate can be classified based on the Weibull shape factor k _w . Very high values (k _w  > 3) are found in the interior plateaus, typical of very uniform katabatic-dominated winds with high directional constancy. In the coast and all over the Antarctic Peninsula the shape factors are similar to the ones found in mid-latitudes (k _w  < 3) typical of synoptically dominated wind climates. The Weibull shape parameter is systematically overpredicted by ERA reanalyses. This is partly corrected by RACMO2/ANT simulations which introduce more wind speed variability in complex terrain areas. A significant improvement is observed in the performance of ERA-Interim over ERA-40, with an overall decrease of 14 % in normalized mean absolute error. In escarpment and coastal areas, where the terrain gets rugged and katabatic winds are further intensified in confluence zones, ERA-Interim bias can be as high as 10 m s^?1. These large deviations are partly corrected by the regional climate model. Given that RACMO2/ANT is an independent simulation of the near-surface wind speed climate, as it is not driven by observations, it compares very well to the ERA-Interim and AWS-115 datasets.     

A MODELING STUDY OF INHOMOGENEOUS COASTAL GALES ASSOCIATED WITH THE LANDFALL OF TYPHOON SOUDELOR (2015)

In this study, coastal gales and rainfall attributed to the landfall of Typhoon Soudelor (2015) are analyzed based on observational dense automatic weather stations data, advanced scatterometer-retrieved 10-m ocean surface wind data and simulations using the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model. This study focuses on gale bands in the right-front quadrant of the typhoon and associated coastal winds over Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces in China before the landfall of the typhoon. The results are summarized as follows. (1) 10-m surface wind data from automatic weather stations over land and islands, advanced scatterometer-retrieved 10-m ocean surface wind data, and the WRF simulation indicate similar mesoscale offshore gales. (2) The model simulation with a 333-m grid mesh indicates a gale zone over the right-front quadrant of the typhoon; the gale is “broken” over the coastal areas, and formed an inhomogeneous gale band. (3) The model-simulated winds agree well with the island observations. (4) Non-uniform gales over boundary layers result in horizontal wind-speed gradients and strong convergence that favors the development of convection and the maintenance of ocean surface gales.     

Easterly Wind Storms over Israel

Summary Continental wind storms are common along the Mediterranean coast. Along the northern coast they are mostly cold, similar to the Bora or the Mistral, and along the southern coast they are mostly warm, e.g., the Ghibli or the Shirocco. At the eastern Mediterranean basin and the Levant region, these storms are intermittently warm and cold during the same season and often even during the same event. Quasi-stationary systems, as well as moving disturbances, are the cause of such wind storms. Accordingly, the resulting weather conditions may be extremely converse due to the characteristics of the advected airmass. Specific regions in Israel, sensitive to easterly storms, are influenced by these wind storms for about 10% of the year (e.g., the westerly slopes of the mountains and valleys with west-east orientation). The frequency, however, of widespread storms covering the entire region is only approximately 1.4% of the entire year. These wind storms are therefore classified in the present study according to their climatological and synoptic characteristics; indicating that the dominant synoptic situation is the Red-Sea trough and the warm advections. These storms appear only from October-May and are most frequent during the cold season. The diurnal course is characterized by a strengthening in the morning hours and a weakening at noon and in the afternoon hours, due to the opposing effect of the westerly sea breeze, suppressing the easterly winds and the effect of katabatic winds. Nevertheless, synoptic conditions may contribute to this tendency as well. Accordingly, a significant increase in the frequencies of easterly storms, in relation to distance from the seashore has been identified. Although most of the stormy days are with westerly winds, the easterly wind storms has vast environmental implications, creating damage especially to agriculture and occasionally also to property and life; coastal flooding, potential air pollution, intensifying of forest fires and occasionally dust and sand storms. Received September 9, 1996 Revised March 6, 1997