Research Experience Placements Scheme (‘REP’)
Climatology of Flow over the Antarctic Peninsula
Supervisors: Dr Alan Gadian and Victoria Smith
The Antarctic Peninsula is currently one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth but the forces driving this warming are not fully understood. Environmental change associated with the warming has important implications both regionally and globally. The OFCAP NERC funded research proposal, is lead by Dr John King at the British Antarctic survey, and with the collaboration of Professor Stephen Mobbs (PI), Dr Alan Gadian (Co-PI) and Victoria Smith (PDRA) at the University of Leeds.
This summer placement will look at one element of the observations, namely the climatology of the weather systems crossing the Antarctic Peninsula, with the specific view of analysing the past climate of these weather patterns. The long term aim of the project is to develop improved predictions of Antarctic Peninsula climate for the next 100 years, but the specific aim of this work package is to analyse recent large scale weather patterns as they cross the peninsula. Recent past variability and climatology of “flow-over” conditions in the Peninsula will be investigated. The data includes daily radiosonde data from Faraday/Vernadsky (1955-1982) Rothera (2003-present) and Bellingshausen (1969-1998) stations on the western, upstream side of the Peninsula.
There are two main subject topics which could both make exciting projects:
- Use of synoptic daily pressure patterns, available from the archive, will enable tracking of depression systems across the peninsula. How have these weather patterns changed. If time, can the near-surface winds and surface temperature data available from Esperanza (1987-present) in the north-east Peninsula, be used for detecting the presence of a föhn wind on the lee side (Marshall et al., 2006).
- Understanding of the detailed flow over the Peninsula and the associated generation of gravity waves and lee-side phenomena, are critical to the proposed warming mechanism. Using the recent and previous collection of Radiosonde data, the strength and frequency of strong gravity wave flow will be examined. This should produce an estimate of any change in weather regimes in recent years.
Details of the funded OFCAP proposal can be found in
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/afi/awards_round10.php#1004
UN official but working web site of the MASIN project is available on
http://www.camracers.org.uk/masin/index.php
Further information on this project may be obtained from Alan Gadian, Email: alan(at)env.leeds.ac.uk