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Abstract |
Katabatic flows largely dominate the climate of the Adelie Land coastal region. A detailed climatological data analysis of Dumont d'Urville has been conducted. Results of this study support the idea that katabatic flow can be locally enhanced by the diurnal cycle of solar insolation and the temperature contrast between the continent and the ocean. The interaction between katabatic wind and local thermal effects is expressed in terms of scale analysis. Except for surface stress, all terms in the momentum equation for a katabatic flow in a coastal region of Antarctica can reach the same order of magnitude. The local circulation then is the result of a relatively tenuous force balance which can be disrupted even by a weak perturbation of any term. To estimate the effect of the temperature contrast between the ocean and the continent on the katabatic flow, two numerical experiments have been conducted. The simulations consider an ocean free of sea ice representative of the summer months, and another winter case with the ocean covered by thick sea ice. These simulations show that with the ocean free of sea ice, the katabatic flows extend only a limited distance over the open ocean during the day due to the local thermal effects. With the ocean covered by sea ice, the katabatic winds are not constrained and extend a considerable distance offshore.
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