An extreme precipitation event in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica: a case study with the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System

Polar research

Michiel R. van den Broeke¹  Carleen H. Reijmer¹  Elisabeth Schlosser²  Jordan G. Powers³  Kevin W. Manning³  Michael G. Duda³ 

[1] Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, NL-3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands;Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, AT-6020 Innsbruck, AustriaCorrespondence;Mesoscale and Microscale Division, NCAR Earth System Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307, USA

关键词: Antarctica;    climate;    ice cores;    precipitation;   

DOI  :  10.3402/polar.v29i3.6072

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

来源: Co-Action Publishing

【 摘 要 】

An extreme precipitation event that influenced almost the whole polar plateau of Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, is investigated using Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System archive data. For the first time a high-resolution atmospheric model especially adapted for polar regions was used for such a study in Dronning Maud Land. The outstanding event of 21–25 February 2003 was connected to a strong north-westerly flow, caused by a blocking high above eastern Dronning Maud Land, that persisted for several days and brought unusually large levels of moisture to the Antarctic Plateau. This weather situation is most effective in bringing precipitation to high-altitude interior Antarctic ice-core drilling sites, where precipitation in the form of diamond dust usually dominates. However, a few such precipitation events per year can account for a large percentage of the annual accumulation, which can cause a strong bias in ice-core data. Additionally, increased temperatures and wind speeds during these events need t...

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC