Abstract
A density current model was extended for use in katabatic flow over the steep slopes of Antarctica through the inclusion of the Coriolis effect and weight flux terms corresponding to blowing snow and cooling caused by sublimation. The model was calibrated and tested against data obtained during two flights in Adelie Land, Antarctica, along a trajectory starting about 170 km inland and extending to Dumont d'Urville. The predicted trend in water vapor flux agrees with measurements of this flux, lending support to empirical formulae for both snow flux and sublimation rate. Model predictions of velocity were in good agreement with measured quantities when reasonable estimates of radiation divergence and surface heat exchange were provided as input to the model. The potential temperature gradient above the katabatic layer was found to play a major role in flow stability for high velocity and deep katabatic flows. Velocity predictions were in better agreement with the data when a locally determined value was used for the coefficient in the empirical snow flux expression.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ball, F. K.: 1956, ‘The Theory of Strong Katabatic Winds’, Australian J. Physics 9(3), 373–386.
Budd, W. F., Dingle, W. R. D., and Radok, U.: 1966, ‘The Byrd Snow Drift Project: Outline and Basic Results’, in M. J. Rubin (ed.), Studies in Antarctic Meteorology, American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C., pp. 71–134.
Denton, R. A. and Wood, J. R.: 1981, ‘Penetrative Convection at Low Peclet Number’, J. Fluid Mech. 13, 1–21.
Ellison, J. H. and Turner, J. S.: 1959, ‘Turbulent Entrainment in Stratified Flows’, J. Fluid Mech. 6, 423–448.
Gosink, J. P.: 1982, ‘Measurements of Katabatic Winds between Dome C and Dumont d'Urville’, Pure and Applied Geophys. 120 503–526.
Gosink, J. P.: 1987, Entrainment by Katabatic Winds in Adelie Land. Antarctica, Proc. of the Third Int. Symposium on Stratified Flows, IAHR, Calif. Inst. of Tech., Pasadena, Calif., Vol. 1.
Gutman, L. N. and Malbakhov, V. M.: 1965, ‘On the Theory of Katabatic Winds in Antarctica’, Meteorologicheskiye Issledovaniye. No. 9. English translation by U. Radok available at the Dept. of Meteorology. Univ. of Melbourne, Australia.
Hansen, N. E. O.: 1975, Entrainment in Two-layered Flows. Inst. Hydrodyn. Hydraul. Eng., Tech. University Denmark. Ser. Pap. No. 7. 99 pp.
Holton, J. R.: 1967, ‘The Diurnal Boundary Layer Wind Oscillation above Sloping Terrain’, Tellus 19, 199–205.
Inoue, J.: 1989, ‘Surface Drag over the Snow Surface of the Antarctic Plateau 1. Factors Controlling Surface Drag over the Katabatic Wind Region’, J. Geophys. Res. 94, 2207–2217.
Iribarne, J. V. and Godson, W. L.: 1981, Atmospheric Thermodynamics. 2nd Edition D. Reidel Publishing Co., Dordrecht, Holland.
Kodama, Y., Wendler, G., and Gosink, J.: 1985, ‘The Effect of Blowing Snow on Katabatic Winds in Antarctica’, Annals of Glaciology 6 59–62.
Kodama, Y., Wendler, G., and Ishikawa, N.: 1989, ‘On the Diurnal Variation of the Boundary Layer in Summer in Adelie Land. Eastern Antarctica’, J. Appl. Meteorol. 28(1), 16–24.
LaLaurette, F. and André, J.-C.: 1985, ‘On the Integral Modelling of Katabatic Flows’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 33, 135–149.
Lettau, H.: 1966. ‘A Case Study of Katabatic Flows on the South Polar Plateau’. Antarctic Res. Series, 9. Amer. Geophys. Union, pp. 1–11.
Mahrt, L.: 1986, ‘On the Shallow Motion Approximations’, J. Atmos. Sci. 43(10). 1036–1044.
Mahrt, L.: 1982, ‘Momentum Balance of Gravity Flows’, J. Atmos. Sci. 39, 2701–2711.
Mahrt, L. and Schwerdtfeger, W.: 1970, ‘Ekman Spirals for Exponential Thermal Wind’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 1, 137–145.
Manins, P. C. and Sawford, B. T.: 1979, ‘A Model of Katabatic Winds’, J. Atmos. Sci. 36, 619–630.
Radok, U.: 1977, ‘Snow Drift’, J. Glaciology 19(18), 123–139.
Renard, R. J. and Foster, M. S.: 1978, The Airborne Research Data System (ARDS): Description and Evaluation of Meteorological Data Recorded during Selected 1977 Antarctic Flight. Report No. NPS 63–78–002. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif. 93940.
Schmidt, R. A.: 1972, Sublimation of Wind-Transported Snow: A Model, Res. Paper RM-90, Rocky Mnt. Forest and Range Exper. Sta., Forest Service. U.S. Dept. of Agric., Fort Collins, Colo.
Schmidt, R. A.: 1981, ‘Estimation of Threshold Windspeed from Particle Sizes in Blowing Snow’, Cold Regions Science and Technology 4, 187–193.
Schmidt, R. A.: 1982, ‘Vertical Profiles of Wind Speed. Snow Concentration, and Humidity in Blowing Snow’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 23, 223–246.
Smith, P. C.: 1975, ‘A Streamtube Model for Bottom Boundary Currents in the Ocean’, Deep-Sea Res. 22, 853–873.
Sorbjan, Z.: 1983, ‘Rossby Number Similarity in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer over a Slightly Inclined Terrain’, J. Atmos. Sci. 40, 718–728.
Streten, N. A., Ishikawa, N., and Wendler, G.: 1974, ‘Some Observations of the Local Wind Regime on an Alaskan Glacier’, Arch. Meteorol. Geophys. Bioklim. B22, 337–350.
Thorpe, A. D. and Mason, B. J.: 1966, ‘The Evaporation of Ice Spheres and Ice Crystals’, British J. Appl. Physics 17, 541–548.
Turner, J. S.: 1968, ‘The Influence of Molecular Diffusivity on Turbulent Entrainment across a Density Interface’, J. Fluid Mech. 33, 639–656.
Turner, J. S.: 1973, Buoyancy Effects in Fluids, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Wendler, G.: 1989, ‘On the Blowing Snow in Adelie Land, Eastern Antarctica’, in J. Oerlemans (ed.). Glacier Fluctuations and Climatic Change, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gosink, J.P. The extension of a density current model of katabatic winds to include the effects of blowing snow and sublimation. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 49, 367–394 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00123650
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00123650