Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Identification of Surface Wind Patterns over the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, Using Self-Organizing Maps

Melissa A. Nigro Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado

Search for other papers by Melissa A. Nigro in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
and
John J. Cassano Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado

Search for other papers by John J. Cassano in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Print Publication:
01 Jul 2014
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-13-00382.1
Page(s):
2361–2378
Restricted access

Abstract

The interaction of synoptic and mesoscale circulations with the steep topography surrounding the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, greatly influences the wind patterns in the region of the Ross Ice Shelf. The topography provides forcing for features such as katabatic winds, barrier winds, and barrier wind corner jets. The combination of topographic forcing and synoptic and mesoscale forcing from cyclones that traverse the Ross Ice Shelf sector create a region of strong but varying winds. This paper identifies the dominant surface wind patterns over the Ross Ice Shelf using output from the Weather Research and Forecasting Model run within the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System and the method of self-organizing maps (SOM). The dataset has 15-km grid spacing and is the first study to identify the dominant surface wind patterns using data at this resolution. The analysis shows that the Ross Ice Shelf airstream, a dominant stream of air flowing northward from the interior of the continent over the western and/or central Ross Ice Shelf to the Ross Sea, is present over the Ross Ice Shelf approximately 34% of the time, the Ross Ice Shelf airstream varies in both its strength and position over the Ross Ice Shelf, and barrier wind corner jets are present in the region to the northwest of the Prince Olav Mountains approximately 14% of the time and approximately 41% of the time when the Ross Ice Shelf airstream is present.

Corresponding author address: Melissa A. Nigro, University of Colorado Boulder, 216 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309. E-mail: melissa.nigro@colorado.edu

Abstract

The interaction of synoptic and mesoscale circulations with the steep topography surrounding the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, greatly influences the wind patterns in the region of the Ross Ice Shelf. The topography provides forcing for features such as katabatic winds, barrier winds, and barrier wind corner jets. The combination of topographic forcing and synoptic and mesoscale forcing from cyclones that traverse the Ross Ice Shelf sector create a region of strong but varying winds. This paper identifies the dominant surface wind patterns over the Ross Ice Shelf using output from the Weather Research and Forecasting Model run within the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System and the method of self-organizing maps (SOM). The dataset has 15-km grid spacing and is the first study to identify the dominant surface wind patterns using data at this resolution. The analysis shows that the Ross Ice Shelf airstream, a dominant stream of air flowing northward from the interior of the continent over the western and/or central Ross Ice Shelf to the Ross Sea, is present over the Ross Ice Shelf approximately 34% of the time, the Ross Ice Shelf airstream varies in both its strength and position over the Ross Ice Shelf, and barrier wind corner jets are present in the region to the northwest of the Prince Olav Mountains approximately 14% of the time and approximately 41% of the time when the Ross Ice Shelf airstream is present.

Corresponding author address: Melissa A. Nigro, University of Colorado Boulder, 216 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309. E-mail: melissa.nigro@colorado.edu
Save
Cover Monthly Weather Review
Monthly Weather Review

  • Bromwich, D. H., J. F. Carrasco, and C. R. Stearns, 1992: Satellite observations of katabatic-wind propagation for great distances across the Ross Ice Shelf. Mon. Wea. Rev., 120, 1940–1949, doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1992)120<1940:SOOKWP>2.0.CO;2.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bromwich, D. H., J. F. Carrasco, Z. Liu, and R. Tzeng, 1993: Hemispheric atmospheric variations and oceanographic impacts associated with katabatic surges across the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. J. Geophys. Res., 98, 13 045–13 062, doi:10.1029/93JD00562.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bromwich, D. H., A. J. Monaghan, K. W. Manning, and J. G. Powers, 2005: Real-time forecasting for the Antarctic: An evaluation of the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS). Mon. Wea. Rev., 133, 579–603, doi:10.1175/MWR-2881.1.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bromwich, D. H., K. M. Hines, and L.-S. Bai, 2009: Development and testing of polar Weather Research and Forecasting Model: 2. Arctic Ocean. J. Geophys. Res., 114, D08122, doi:10.1029/2008JD010300.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Dickey, W. W., 1961: A study of a topographic effect on wind in the Arctic. J. Meteor., 18, 790–803, doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1961)018<0790:ASOATE>2.0.CO;2.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hines, K. M., and D. H. Bromwich, 2008: Development and testing of polar Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. Part I: Greenland ice sheet meteorology. Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 1971–1989, doi:10.1175/2007MWR2112.1.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hines, K. M., D. H. Bromwich, L.-S. Bai, M. Barlage, and A. G. Slater, 2011: Development and testing of Polar WRF. Part III: Arctic land. J. Climate, 24, 26–48, doi:10.1175/2010JCLI3460.1.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Holton, J. R., 2004: An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology. 4th ed. Academic Press, 535 pp.

  • Keller, L. M., M. A. Lazzara, J. E. Thom, G. A. Weidner, and C. R. Stearns, 2010: Antarctic Automatic Weather Station Data for the calendar year 2009. Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison.

  • Kohonen, T., 2001: Self-Organizing Maps. 3rd ed. Springer, 501 pp.

  • Kozo, T. L., and R. Q. Robe, 1986: Modeling winds and open-water buoy drift along the eastern Beaufort Sea coast, including the effects of the Brooks Range. J. Geophys. Res., 91, 13 011–13 032, doi:10.1029/JC091iC11p13011.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lazzara, M. A., G. A. Weidner, L. M. Keller, J. E. Thom, and J. J. Cassano, 2012: Antarctic automatic weather station program: 30 years of polar observations. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 93, 1519–1537, doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00015.1.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lefevre, J., P. Marchesiello, N. C. Jourdain, C. Menkes, and A. Leroy, 2010: Weather regimes and orographic circulation around New Caledonia. Mar. Pollut. Bull., 61, 413–431, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.06.012.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Moore, G. W. K., and I. A. Renfrew, 2005: Tip jets and barrier winds: A QuikSCAT climatology of high wind speed events around Greenland. J. Climate, 18, 3713–3725, doi:10.1175/JCLI3455.1.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Nigro, M. A., J. J. Cassano, M. A. Lazzara, and L. M. Keller, 2012: Case study of a barrier wind corner jet off the coast of the Prince Olav Mountains, Antarctica. Mon. Wea. Rev., 140, 2044–2063, doi:10.1175/MWR-D-11-00261.1.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • O’Connor, W. P., D. H. Bromwich, and J. F. Carrasco, 1994: Cyclonically forced barrier winds along the Transantarctic Mountains near Ross Island. Mon. Wea. Rev., 122, 137–150, doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1994)122<0137:CFBWAT>2.0.CO;2.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Olafsson, H., 2000: The impact of flow regimes on asymmetry of orographic drag at moderate and low Rossby numbers. Tellus, 52A, 365–379, doi:10.1034/j.1600-0870.2000.00765.x.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Olafsson, H., and H. Agustsson, 2007: The Freysnes downslope windstorm. Meteor. Z., 16, 123–130, doi:10.1127/0941-2948/2007/0180.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Outten, S. D., I. A. Renfrew, and G. N. Petersen, 2009: An easterly tip jet off Cape Farewell, Greenland. II: Simulations and dynamics. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 135, 1934–1949, doi:10.1002/qj.531.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Outten, S. D., I. A. Renfrew, and G. N. Petersen, 2010: Erratum to ‘An easterly tip jet off Cape Farewell, Greenland. II: Simulations and dynamics.’ Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 136, 1099–1101, doi:10.1002/qj.629.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Parish, T. R., 1988: Surface winds over the Antarctic Continent—A review. Rev. Geophys., 26, 169–180, doi:10.1029/RG026i001p00169.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Parish, T. R., 1992: On the interaction between Antarctic katabatic winds and tropospheric motions in the high southern latitudes. Aust. Meteor. Mag., 40, 149–167.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Parish, T. R., and D. H. Bromwich, 1987: The surface windfield over the Antarctic ice sheets. Nature, 328, 51–54, doi:10.1038/328051a0.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Parish, T. R., and D. H. Bromwich, 1991: Continental-scale simulation of the Antarctic katabatic wind regime. J. Climate, 4, 135–146, doi:10.1175/1520-0442(1991)004<0135:CSSOTA>2.0.CO;2.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Parish, T. R., and D. H. Bromwich, 1998: A case study of Antarctic katabatic wind interaction with large-scale forcing. Mon. Wea. Rev., 126, 199–209, doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1998)126<0199:ACSOAK>2.0.CO;2.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Parish, T. R., D. H. Bromwich, and R. Y. Tzeng, 1994: On the role of the Antarctic continent in forcing large-scale circulations in the high southern latitudes. J. Atmos. Sci., 51, 3566–3579, doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1994)051<3566:OTROTA>2.0.CO;2.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Parish, T. R., J. J. Cassano, and M. W. Seefeldt, 2006: Characteristics of the Ross Ice Shelf air stream as depicted in Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System simulations. J. Geophys. Res., 111, D12109, doi:10.1029/2005JD006185.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Powers, J. G., K. W. Manning, D. H. Bromwich, J. J. Cassano, and A. M. Cayette, 2012: A decade of Antarctic science support through AMPS. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 93, 1699–1712,doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00186.1.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Renfrew, A., S. D. Outten, and G. W. K. Moore, 2009: An easterly tip jet off Cape Farewell, Greenland. I: Aircraft observations. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 135, 1919–1933, doi:10.1002/qj.513.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Reusch, D. B., R. B. Alley, and B. C. Hewitson, 2005: Relative performance of self-organizing maps and principal component analysis in pattern extraction from synthetic climatological data. Polar Geogr., 29, 188–212, doi:10.1080/789610199.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Seefeldt, M. W., and J. J. Cassano, 2008: An analysis of low-level jets in the greater Ross Ice Shelf region based on numerical simulations. Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 4188–4205, doi:10.1175/2008MWR2455.1.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Seefeldt, M. W., and J. J. Cassano, 2012: A description of the Ross Ice Shelf air stream (RAS) through the use of self-organizing maps (SOMs). J. Geophys. Res., 117, D09112, doi:10.1029/2011JD016857.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Seefeldt, M. W., J. J. Cassano, and T. R. Parish, 2007: Dominant regimes of the Ross Ice Shelf surface wind field during austral autumn 2005. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 46, 1933–1955, doi:10.1175/2007JAMC1442.1.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Steinhoff, D. F., S. Chaudhuri, and D. H. Bromwich, 2009: A case study of a Ross Ice Shelf Air Stream event: A new perspective. Mon. Wea. Rev., 137, 4030–4046, doi:10.1175/2009MWR2880.1.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 1537 977 372
PDF Downloads 416 81 4