Winter atmospheric boundary layer observations over sea ice in the coastal zone of the Bay of Bothnia (Baltic Sea)

Abstract

The Hailuoto Atmospheric Observations over Sea ice (HAOS) campaign took place at the westernmost point of Hailuoto island (Finland) between 27 February and 2 March 2020. The aim of the campaign was to obtain atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) observations over seasonal sea ice in the Bay of Bothnia. Throughout 4 d, both fixed-wing and quad-propeller rotorcraft unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were deployed over the sea ice to measure the properties of the lower ABL and to obtain accompanying high-resolution aerial photographs of the underlying ice surface. Additionally, a 3D sonic anemometer, an automatic weather station, and a Halo Doppler lidar were installed on the shore to collect meteorological observations. During the UAV flights, measurements of temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure were collected at four different altitudes between 25 and 100 m over an area of ∼ 1.5 km2 of sea ice, located 1.1–1.3 km off the shore of Hailuoto's Marjaniemi pier, together with orthomosaic maps of the ice surface below. Altogether the obtained dataset consists of 27 meteorological flights, four photogrammetry missions, and continuous measurements of atmospheric properties from ground-based stations located at the coast. The acquired observations have been quality controlled and post-processed and are available through the PANGAEA repository (https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.918823, Wenta et al., 2020). The obtained dataset provides us with valuable information about ABL properties over thin, newly formed sea ice cover and about physical processes at the interface of sea ice and atmosphere which may be used for the validation and further improvement of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models.