Abstract
The intense radiative cooling of air over the ice slopes of Antarctica generates a surface wind regime that is strongly controlled by topography, and plays a key role in determining the behaviour of the atmosphere and ocean in high southern latitudes1–7. Resultant surface winds are intimately linked to the orientation of the ice terrain (Fig. 1) and display the highest degree of persistence found on Earth. The close coupling between wind and topography allows estimation of the former if the latter is known with some precision. Here we report on time-averaged, near-surface airflow over the Antarctic continent during winter diagnosed from a recent, accurate synthesis of terrain slopes and from estimates of the lower atmospheric temperature structure. The simulated drainage pat-tern exhibits strong spatial variability with the airflow concentrated into several zones near the coastal margin. These confluence regions are responsible for strong persistent katabatic winds over downstream coastal stretches and are indicative of zones of greatest katabatic potential.
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References
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Parish, T., Bromwich, D. The surface windfield over the Antarctic ice sheets. Nature 328, 51–54 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/328051a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/328051a0
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