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Mesoscale evaluation of AMPS using AWARE radar observations of a wind and precipitation event over the Ross Island region of Antarctica

Journal Article · · Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4327· OSTI ID:1870375
 [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
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Surface, upper-air, and radar observations are used to assess the performance of the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS) in simulating the mesoscale aspects of a wind and precipitation event over the Ross Island region of Antarctica that spanned January 16–20, 2016. The observations, collected during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE), provide a unique dataset for evaluating AMPS, especially the radar observations that facilitate a three-dimensional depiction of winds and precipitation. Comparisons of AMPS forecast data with surface meteorology, balloon-sounding, and profiling radar observations at and above sites near McMurdo Station reveal a mixture of similarities and differences. A generally southerly flow is evident at low levels in both the AMPS simulations and observed Doppler radial velocities. AMPS winds are comparable to those observed at the surface and aloft in terms of magnitude, direction, and timing but the strongest simulated southerly flow is displaced eastward relative to the observations. AMPS-simulated reflectivity over the broader Ross Island region is more limited in areal extent and smaller in magnitude than observed by a scanning Doppler radar. Three episodes of surface precipitation are observed near McMurdo Station over the five-day event with peak rates of ~3 mm h-1 and a total accumulation of ~22 mm. However, AMPS produces no surface precipitation at that location over the five-day event due to a low-level dry bias in the forecasts. Herein, the results show the first observationally based three-dimensional understanding of meteorology in the Ross Island region.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Center
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1870375
Journal Information:
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Journal Name: Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society Journal Issue: 747 Vol. 148; ISSN 0035-9009
Publisher:
Royal Meteorological SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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dataset January 1998
KAZRARSCL-c0-All-inclusive data stream
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dataset January 2014
met.b1
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dataset January 2021

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Related Subjects

AMPS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Antarctica
McMurdo Station
Ross Island
mesoscale
precipitation
radar
wind