A Study of the Large-Scale Impacts of Antarctic Katabatic Winds

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This project is an atmospheric modelling effort whose purpose is the examination of the concurrent evolution of the circumpolar vortex and the antarctic katabatic wind regime. Katabatic winds occur regularly in the lowest levels of the antarctic atmosphere and form an equatorward-directed branch of the mean circulation in high southern latitudes. They transport energy and momentum northward, thereby alleviating some of the intense baroclinicity that develops along the periphery of the antarctic continent because of the horizontal temperature contrast. Boundary layer flows appear to have a significant effect in forcing large-scale motions in the middle and upper troposphere over Antarctica. The fundamental goal of this research is to assess how shallow drainage features affect the heat and momentum budgets of the Antarctic atmosphere by integrating mesoscale modelling with statistical analyses of conventional and automatic weather station surface observations. The study will complement current studies of the general circulation in high southern latitudes, and of the antarctic stratospheric vortex.