Articles | Volume 3, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1415-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1415-2022
Research article
 | 
02 Dec 2022
Research article |  | 02 Dec 2022

Reanalysis representation of low-level winds in the Antarctic near-coastal region

Thomas Caton Harrison, Stavroula Biri, Thomas J. Bracegirdle, John C. King, Elizabeth C. Kent, Étienne Vignon, and John Turner

Data sets

Long-term dataset of mean surface and upper air me- teorological measurements from a selection of Antarctic stations and automatic weather stations - READER (REference Antarctic Data for Environmental Research) project S. Colwell https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/reader/

Radiosonde measurements from Neumayer Station (2016-12) G. König-Langlo https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.874564

Remote Sensing Systems ASCAT C-2015 Daily Ocean Vector Winds on 0.25 deg grid L. Ricciardulli and F. J. Wentz https://www.remss.com/missions/ascat/

JRA-55: Japanese 55-year Reanalysis, Daily 3-Hourly and 6-Hourly Data Japan Meteorological Agency https://doi.org/10.5065/D6HH6H41

MERRA-2 inst1_2d_asm_Nx: 2d,1-Hourly,Instantaneous,Single-Level,Assimilation,Single-Level Diagnostics V5.12.4 GMAO (Global Modeling and Assimilation Office) https://doi.org/10.5067/3Z173KIE2TPD

MERRA-2 inst3_3d_asm_Np: 3d,3-Hourly,Instantaneous,Pressure-Level,Assimilation,Assimilated Meteorological Fields V5.12.4 GMAO (Global Modeling and Assimilation Office) https://doi.org/10.5067/QBZ6MG944HW0

ERA5 hourly data on pressure levels from 1959 to present (https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/home) H. Hersbach, B. Bell, P. Berrisford, G. Biavati, A. Horányi, J. Muñoz Sabater, J. Nicolas, C. Peubey, R. Radu, I. Rozum, D. Schepers, A. Simmons, C. Soci, D. Dee, and J.-N. Thépaut https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.bd0915c6

ERA5 hourly data on single levels from 1959 to present (https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/home) H. Hersbach, B. Bell, P. Berrisford, G. Biavati, A. Horányi, J. Muñoz Sabater, J. Nicolas, C. Peubey, R. Radu, I. Rozum, D. Schepers, A. Simmons, C. Soci, D. Dee, and J.-N. Thépaut https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.adbb2d47

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Short summary
Easterly winds encircle Antarctica, impacting sea ice and helping drive ocean currents which shield ice shelves from warmer waters. Reanalysis datasets give us our most complete picture of how these winds behave. In this paper we use satellite data, surface measurements and weather balloons to test how realistic recent reanalysis estimates are. The winds are generally accurate, especially in the most recent of the datasets, but important short-term variations are often misrepresented.