Meteorology of the Antarctic
Meteorology of the Antarctic
复制标题
南极气象学
DOI：
10.1007/978-1-935704-10-2_7
复制
发表时间：
1998
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
T. Parish
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
D. Bromwich;T. Parish
The great antarctic ice sheets and the surrounding Southern Ocean environs are large heat sinks in the global energy budget. Their geographical position limits the amount of solar insolation incident at the surface at such latitudes, and the high reflectivity of the ice fields of the Antarctic continent reduces the effective heating (see Carleton 1992). There are pronounced differences between the north and south polar regions. The Northern Hemisphere polar region consists essentially of an ice-covered ocean surrounded by continental landmasses, while the Southern Hemisphere features a continental landmass about the pole surrounded by an ocean. The most significant consequence of the vastly differing polar geographies is that the meridional temperature gradients become enhanced in the SH, resulting in a semipermanent baroclinic zone surrounding Antarctica and in effect thermally isolating the Antarctic continent to a degree unparalleled in the NH. As a result, Antarctica experiences the coldest and most harsh climate on earth. The intensified temperature contrast also supports a large west-to-east thermal wind component. Upper-tropospheric westerlies, which circumscribe the Antarctic continent, are considerably stronger than their NH counterparts (Schwerdtfeger 1984, pp. 223–226).
