Noaa/etl Studies in Conditions Related to the Proposed Ross Island Meteorology Experiment (rime)

The Ross Island Meteorology Experiment (RIME) plans to study the synoptic and mesoscale phenomena along a high-latitude, steep and complex coastline (RIME Workshop Guideline, http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu/). A key component of RIME is model validation and improvement of physical parameterizations. The Ross Island region is impacted by vigorous storms approaching from the northwest, air-sea interaction over the Ross Sea, air-ice interactions over the Ross Ice shelf, topographic forcing near the coastline, and katabatic flow and other influences from the Antarctic interior. In short, the meteorology of the region is complex and affected by a large variety of physical processes ranging from the continent-scale, to the local scale. Some of the phenomena that will be encountered near Ross Island are likely similar to those measured and documented elsewhere in polar or coastal environments. NOAA's Environmental Technology Laboratory (ETL) has made atmospheric measurements at the South Pole and during several Arctic research programs. The Arctic programs include the Lead Experiment (LeadEx92) in the Beaufort Sea (March –April 1992), the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) project in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Oct. 1997-Oct. 1998; Perovich et al. 1999), and the Arctic Ocean Expedition near the North Pole (July Aug, 2001). Wintertime coastal studies of landfalling storms have been done along the U.S. West Coast in the California Landfalling Jets Experiment (CALJET, 11/97-3/98) and the Pacific Landfalling Jets Experiment (PACJET, Jan-Feb, 2001) (Ralph, et al 2001). Some of the significant physical processes and phenomena observed during these field programs and likely relevant to RIME will be presented in this paper. Lessons learned from the measurement methodology, data analysis, and numerical modeling of the processes and ________________________________________ *Corresponding author address: Dr. Ola Persson, R/ET7, NOAA/ETL, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305; [email protected] phenomena will be discussed, including measurement omissions in these programs. The capabilities of various surface-based remote sensors for deployment in polar regions was reviewed by Neff and Gottas (Cassano and Everett 2000).