Atmospheric circulation and the air transport in the Antarctic

Abstract

This study investigate the seasonal variations and features of air transport routes to the Japanese stations, "Syowa Station" and "Dome Fuji Station", which are located on the coastal and in the continental interior, respectively. For backward trajectory calculation, the NIPR trajectory model (NITRAM) and ERA-40 reanalysis were used. At Syowa Station, the difference of air transport between the mid and lower troposphere (500, 850 hPa, respectively) is of interest. We assorted trajectories into four regions by their locations 5-days before, which indicate the origin area of the air parcel. At 500 hPa over Syowa Station, about 80% of air parcels came from the sea, whereas at 850 hPa, half of trajectories came from Antarctica. Generally, air parcels came from west of Syowa Station at 500 hPa (69%). The easterly wind zone covered the station, so air parcels were liable to come from the east and the continental interior at 850 hPa. At 500 hPa over Dome Fuji Station, about 50% of air parcels from the ocean had traveled to the station and there is an annual variation in the origins.