The dynamics of Antarctic katabatic winds [microform]
- Bib ID:
- 3287676
- Format:
- Book and Microform
- Author:
- Waight, Kenneth Thomas, III
- Description:
- 187 p.
- Summary:
-
The near-surface airflow over most of the Antarctic continent is dominated by gravity-driven winds produced by radiational cooling of the sloping ice sheet. The most spectacular manifestation of this katabatic flow is the extraordinarily strong and persistent wind regime along portions of the Adelie Coast. One- and two-dimensional versions of a mesoscale meteorological model are used in an attempt to advance the fundamental understanding of katabatic winds in an Antarctic context. It is found that the 1-D simulations diverge from slope wind theory in some aspects because of the inclusion of the effect of the earth's rotation and because of the interactive diabatic cooling process produced by model parameterizations.
The two-dimensional results demonstrate the importance of processes occurring at the ends of a slope of finite extent and reveal the differences between flow on a uniform slope and on an Antarctic-type slope, where the terrain slope angle increases from the interior toward the coast. The full three-dimensional model is used to investigate an ideal "confluence zone" which can produce winds of comparable strength to those observed on the Adelie Coast. The existence of a significant transverse circulation highlights the three-dimensional nature of Antarctic winds produced by relatively minor lateral terrain variations.
- Notes:
-
- (UnM)AAI8813317
- Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-05, Section: B, page: 1767.
- Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wyoming, 1987.
- Reproduction:
- Microfiche. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International.
- Subject:
- Physics, Atmospheric Science
- Other authors/contributors:
- University of Wyoming
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary Dramatic Musical
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 1987
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