Polar
meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...
is the study of the atmosphere of Earth's
polar regions
The polar regions, also called the frigid zones or polar zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high latitudes are dominated by floa ...
.
Surface
temperature inversion
In meteorology, an inversion is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude. It almost always refers to an inversion of the air temperature lapse rate, in which case it is called a temperature inversion. Nor ...
is typical of polar environments and leads to the
katabatic wind
A katabatic wind (named from the Greek word κατάβασις ''katabasis'', meaning "descending") is a drainage wind, a wind that carries high-density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of gravity. Such winds are sometim ...
phenomenon. The vertical temperature structure of polar environments tends to be more complex than in mid-latitude or
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
climates.
History
Beginnings
The collection of polar meteorology data started in 1893 with
Fridtjof Nansen during his
North Pole expedition. One of the goals of the expedition was to make detailed meteorological and early oceanographic measurements. The measurements made from Nansen’s ship, which was named Fram, were used by
Vagn Walfrid Ekman
Vagn Walfrid Ekman (3 May 1874 – 9 March 1954) was a Swedish oceanographer.
Born in Stockholm to Fredrik Laurentz Ekman, himself an oceanographer, he became committed to oceanography while studying physics at the University of Uppsala and ...
to develop the theory of the turning of surface flow with friction (the
Ekman spiral).
Cold War
The
Cold War acted as a catalyst for progress in polar meteorology. Balloon instruments along the northern borders of the US and Canada were used for
atmospheric profiling. North America’s air defenses often used instruments carried on balloons to profile the Arctic.
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...
s, which the United States used as a defense mechanism, were equipped with upward looking
sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...
. The data were later declassified and between 1958-1979 became the baseline for assessing the thinning of ice from the 1980s to the present day.
Russia also contributed highly accurate data between 1937 and 1991.
Present day
Today, submarine mapping and measurements have been drastically reduced. One classic way to measuring ice thickness is to drill a hole in the ice and analyze the ice obtained. There are also many more complex methods and devices dedicated to measuring and keeping track of weather conditions in polar areas. These include ice mass balance buoys, upward looking sonar from under-ice buoys, and satellites. Global warming has increased interest in polar meteorology. This is because most of Earth's snow and ice are in polar regions, and these areas are expected to be the most affected by the snow/ice-surface
albedo
Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body that refl ...
feedback effect. Therefore, if increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration causes global warming, then polar regions should warm faster than other locations on Earth.
Topics of interest
Atmosphere sea ice/ocean interaction
Interaction between the atmosphere, ice and ocean is confined to the
atmospheric boundary layer, which is mainly influenced by surface characteristics. In polar regions, these are sea ice roughness and sea ice concentration, which greatly influence surface temperature distribution. Wind speed and direction, the temperature of the air, and the location of the wind contact are other factors.
Both sea ice and wind have great impact on the atmospheric boundary layer, which is often used to measure conditions in polar areas.
Polar clouds and precipitation
The atmospheric portion of the hydrological cycle in polar regions plays an important role in that:
* the balance of polar ice masses is inseparably linked to precipitation,
* clouds modify the
radiation transfer
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visib ...
,
* the release of
latent heat
Latent heat (also known as latent energy or heat of transformation) is energy released or absorbed, by a body or a thermodynamic system, during a constant-temperature process — usually a first-order phase transition.
Latent heat can be underst ...
modifies the temperature of the air, hence circulations.
Carbon dioxide and methane
Carbon dioxide (CO
2) is of particular interest in polar meteorology because it affects the melting of sea ice.
Human activity releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from burning oil, coal and natural gas.
A dozen pounds of Arctic sea ice disappears for every pound of carbon dioxide released. This highlights the heating power of carbon dioxide, which pumps 100,000 times more energy into our climate than was given off when the oil, coal or natural gas was burned. White Arctic ice, currently at its lowest level in recent history, is causing more absorption. Prof Wadhams, in a recent BBC article, calculates that this absorption of the sun's rays is having an effect "the equivalent of about 20 years of additional CO
2 being added by man". The Cambridge University expert says that the Arctic ice cap is "heading for oblivion".
Methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ea ...
, a potent greenhouse gas, introduces a significant
positive feedback
Positive feedback (exacerbating feedback, self-reinforcing feedback) is a process that occurs in a feedback loop which exacerbates the effects of a small disturbance. That is, the effects of a perturbation on a system include an increase in th ...
as global warming leads to the retreat of vast areas of
continuous
Continuity or continuous may refer to:
Mathematics
* Continuity (mathematics), the opposing concept to discreteness; common examples include
** Continuous probability distribution or random variable in probability and statistics
** Continuous ...
and
discontinuous permafrost
Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...
in the northern hemisphere. As permafrost retreats, more areas become emitters of methane. Estimations of the
methane emissions
Increasing methane emissions are a major contributor to the rising concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, and are responsible for up to one-third of near-term global heating. During 2019, about 60% (360 million tons) of methane r ...
from northern swamps vary strongly due to
#the extensive variability of methane emission between and within different swamp areas
#the very limited knowledge of these fluxes for various types of soils, and
#the lack of representative data for vast areas like the enormous swamps, e.g., in Siberia.
Recent advances now allow sensors to directly measure turbulent methane fluxes from naturally emitting surfaces. A fast response methane sensor can also be installed in research aircraft, like the Polar 5 airplane of the
Alfred Wegener Institute
The Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (German: ''Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung'') is located in Bremerhaven, Germany, and a member of the Helmholtz Association o ...
.
References
{{reflist
External links
Polar Meteorology at The Ohio State UniversityPolar Meteorology at The University of WyomingPolar Meteorology at The Naval Postgraduate SchoolThe American Meteorological Society Committee on Polar Meteorology and Oceanography
Branches of meteorology