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A study of the structure of low-level katabatic winds at Mizuho Station, East Antarctica

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Abstract

Low-level katabatic wind profiles, which have shapes similar to those of the low-level jet (LLJ) wind profiles, are often observed during strong winds in the summer period at Mizuho Station, which is located at 70°42′ S, 44°20′ E in East Antarctica. The profiles may be classified according to the height of the maximum wind speed, z m , found below 30 m height. The behavior of z m and of conditions in the layer above z mare explained well by the normalized frequency, f N = Nz/U at 30 m, whose value can be used to predict the existence of a LLJ wind profile. Subsidence and inertial oscillations above z m are related closely to the height and time variations of z m. Thus, not only effects emanating upward from surface but also momentum and heat transported downward from above are significant for the evolution of z m.

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Chiba, O., Kobayashi, S. A study of the structure of low-level katabatic winds at Mizuho Station, East Antarctica. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 37, 343–355 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00117482

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