Katabatic Winds around Syowa Station, Antarctica

Abstract

To investigate local winds near Syowa Station, katabatic winds were analyzed for 5 years between January 1999 and December 2003 following Morita's definition (1968) using synoptic hourly observation data at Syowa Station. Appearance frequencies and vertical wind and temperature structures were also examined. It was found that spatially and temporally small scale katabatic winds are predominant in summer and low level strong winds are characteristic in winter. Winter katabatic winds are connected to the large scale atmospheric circulation. These conditions were analyzed and simulated with an objectively analyzed data set (NCEP-FNL) and a meso-scale weather model (Polar MM5).