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A wintertime polar low over the eastern Weddell Sea (Antarctica): A study with AVHRR, TOVS, SSM/I and conventional data

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Summary

The baroclinic development of an intense meso-scale cyclone (MC) over the Weddell Sea near the Antarctic coast close to the German Georg-von-Neumayer Station (GvN) during the period 26–28 April 1989 was studied by means of satellite and conventional data. ECMWF analyses, radiosonde data and surface observations were used together with AVHRR data, TOVS and SSM/I retrievals for the description of the synoptic and subsynoptic environment associated with the development of the MC. The MC had a diameter of about 500 km, a lifetime of about 40 hours and reached the intensity of a polar low. Wind speeds up to 19 m/s (with gusts up to 24 m/s) were recorded at GvN as the MC approached on 27 April and remained quasi-stationary for about 24 hours. Its development took place in baroclinic conditions of strong low-level cold air advection close to the sea ice front. The genesis of the MC seemed to be triggered by a 500 hPa short-wave trough and a resemblance to a baroclinic development at a boundary layer front was noticed. Low-level thickness fields from TOVS data reflected the baroclinic structure of the MC, but gradients were relatively weak. Wind speed retrievals from SSM/I data did not allow a full analysis of the wind field structure for this case, as they were limited to ice-free ocean. They showed the incipient MC lying in an area with increased wind speed and high surface fluxes of sensible heat. In the mature stage, a maximum in the SSM/I wind speed field was found in the northwestern part of the MC. A meso-scale analysis with a limited area assimilation system for the mature stage showed only weak support of the low-level MC by upper level cyclonic vorticity advection.

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  1. G. Heinemann

    Present address: Meteorologisches Institut, Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 20, D-53121, Bonn, Germany

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    Paper dedicated to Prof. H. Kraus.

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    Heinemann, G. A wintertime polar low over the eastern Weddell Sea (Antarctica): A study with AVHRR, TOVS, SSM/I and conventional data. Meteorl. Atmos. Phys. 58, 83–102 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01027558

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