Airborne Measurements of Mesoscale Divergence at High Latitudes during HALO–(AC)<sup>3</sup>Show others and affiliations
2024 (English)In: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, ISSN 0022-4928, E-ISSN 1520-0469, Vol. 81, no 12, p. 2051-2067Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Boundary layer cloud transformations at high latitudes play a key role for the Arctic climate and are partially controlled by large-scale dynamics such as subsidence. While measuring large-scale and mesoscale divergence on spatial scales on the order of 100 km has proven notoriously difficult, recent airborne campaigns in the subtropics have successfully applied measurement techniques using multiple dropsonde releases in circular flight patterns. In this paper, it is shown that this method can also be effectively applied at high latitudes, in spite of the considerable differences in atmospheric dynamics compared to the subtropics. To show the applicability, data collected during the airborne High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft–Transregional Collaborative Research Center TRR 172-Arctic Amplification: Climate Relevant Atmospheric and Surface Processes and Feedback Mechanisms [HALO–(AC)3] field campaign near Svalbard in spring 2022 were analyzed, where several flight patterns involving multiple dropsonde launches were realized by two aircraft. This study presents a first overview of the results. We find that the method indeed yields reliable estimates of mesoscale gradients in the Arctic, producing robust vertical profiles of horizontal divergence and, consequently, subsidence. Sensitivity to aspects of the method is investigated, including dependence on sampling area and the divergence calculation.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Meteorological Society , 2024. Vol. 81, no 12, p. 2051-2067
Keywords [en]
Arctic, Convergence/divergence, Dropsondes
National Category
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-357673DOI: 10.1175/JAS-D-24-0034.1ISI: 001367348300001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85210748505OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-357673DiVA, id: diva2:1920780
Note
QC 20241213
2024-12-122024-12-122025-01-07Bibliographically approved