Weather & Climate Support for the AWARE Project

Background

Overview
The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE) aims to gain insight into the factors behind recent climate change in West Antarctica by quantifying the role of changing air masses on the surface energy balance. The field campaign will use some of the most advanced atmospheric research instrumentation to conduct cloud, radiative, and aerosol observations. The project is cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science and the National Science Foundation. More »
Field
Deployment
From the fall of 2015 to early 2017, the AWARE campaign will gather data from McMurdo Station on the northwestern tip of Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf. Using an ARM Mobile Facility, researchers will measure clouds, aerosols, and energy coming from the sun and Earth. An additional smaller suite of instruments will be transported to the WAIS Divide field camp, in central West Antarctica, for an intensive observational period of 56 days between Nov. 2015 and Jan. 2016. More »
Weather
Support
This webpage provides weather and climate information in support of the ongoing AWARE field campaign. Such information is particularly important at a time when an unusually strong El Niño event is unfolding in the equatorial Pacific. As we know, this type of event can leave a significant imprint on the weather and climate of West Antarctica through atmospheric teleconnections.

NWP Forecasts from AMPS

MSLP + Total Precipitation RH + Temp + Geop. Height @ 700 hPa

Description
The maps display 6-hourly numerical weather forecasts out to 48 hours from the AMPS project. The forecasts are generated twice daily with the Polar WRF model, with initializations at 00 and 12 UTC. The plots are updated every day at 04 and 16 UTC. On the left: mean sea level pressure and 3-hourly total precipitation. On the right: relative humidity (wrt. water), temperature, and geopotential height at the 700 hPa pressure level. Click on either animation to view a larger version along with details about the model configuration.
Source

Infrared Satellite Imagery

All Antarctica West Antarctic Sector

Description
These Antarctic satellite composite images are hourly mosaics of GOES, Meteosat, MTSAT, and NOAA polar orbiting satellite infrared data. The animations are updated hourly (top of the hour) to include the 10 most recent images. The most recent image lags real-time by approximately 4 hours. Click on either animation to access a larger version.
Source
Satellite Imagery and Composites from AMRC / SSEC / UW-Madison.

West Antarctic AWS Observations

Kominko-Slade AWS (WAIS Divide) Byrd AWS

Description
These time series display weather readings from two automatic weather stations located in central West Antarctica. The plots are updated on an hourly basis (top of the hour) and cover a 60-hour window ending approximately 1 hour before the current time. The parameters shown are (from top to bottom) air temperature, pressure, wind speed/direction, and relative humidity. Click on either plot to access a larger version.
Source
Antarctic Surface Observations from AMRC / SSEC / UW-Madison.

Large-scale Climate Anomalies

Description
The maps show running 30-day mean anomalies of sea surface temperatures (SSTs), sea-ice concentrations, and 500 hPa geopotential heights. These anomalies are calculatd by taking the mean of each parameters over the most recent 30 days and subtracting the long-term mean for the exact same 30-day window. The reference period is 1981–2010 for sea-ice and geopotential height data (same as NSIDC's baseline), and 1982–2011 for SSTs. SSTs poleward of 60° are masked. The maps are updated once daily, with the most recent data lagging the current date by 2-3 days. Click on either map to access a larger version.
Source

Climate Indices

Description

Daily Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) index during the past 120 days. The AAO is also known as the Southern Annular Mode.

Source

NOAA/Climate Prediction Center.

Description

14-day ensemble forecasts of the Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) Index (in red). The black curve shows the observed AAO index during the past 120 days (as in the figure above).

Source

NOAA/Climate Prediction Center.

Description

9-month ensemble forecasts of Nino3.4 SST anomalies.

Source

NOAA/Climate Prediction Center.

Sponsors & Participants