Abstract
The convergence zone induced by sea breeze systems over Antarctic Peninsula is analyzed for the summer season of 2013–2015. 59 days, selected by satellite images for the absence of major synoptic forcing, are simulated using the WRF model. Sea breeze convergence has been detected in 21 of these days, mostly during evening hours and under large-scale winds. Breeze events are associated with a cold anomaly at the peninsula with respect to the climatology. This condition favors the onset of the necessary horizontal thermal gradients to trigger the breeze circulation. At the same time, no anomaly of the average pressure at sea level is found, indicating that events are favored when the average synoptic flow is present. Case studies indicate that the convergence location over the peninsula is controlled by the synoptic wind. An average convergence over the peninsula happens from 14:00 to 22:30 UTC, with a maximum at 18:00 UTC. There is a strong potential temperature gradient between the surface of the peninsula and the sea, with the sea breeze circulation system extending up to 1.2 km or higher. The sensible heat flux reaches 80 W/m2at the top of mountains and 10 W/m2near the coast.
Highlights
Many studies have analyzed the flow characteristics over mountains in the Antarctic [1,2,3], there are not many that focus on the Antarctic Peninsula (AP)
The AP differs from the other mountain ranges by having one side attached to the high mountain plateau of Western Antarctica and the Transantarctic mountains, which effectively blocks low-level flow from passing around the peninsula’s southern end
This study attempts to fulfill this deficiency by using Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical mesoscale model to do the following: answering whether sea breeze convergence occurs over the AP; defining the conditions that favor such occurrence; describing the most relevant characteristics of such events
Summary
Many studies have analyzed the flow characteristics over mountains in the Antarctic [1,2,3], there are not many that focus on the Antarctic Peninsula (AP). Periard and Pettre [10] found that, during the summer, sea breezes can occur at the coast due to the temperature contrast between the ocean and the Antarctic continent. [11] showed that, during spring and summer, relatively intense solar radiation is received at the surface, warming the lower atmosphere and resulting in the development of relatively frequent sea breeze circulations. The results showed that a temperature gradient large enough to produce a sea breeze circulation may occur. Observations made by Roberts et al [19] at Mill Island, east Antarctic, during the austral summer (2009/2010), showed that the sea breeze causes the development of a marine fog layer at surface level over the summit that persisted during the afternoon into the evening.
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