A statistical study of precipitation on the eastern antarctic plateau (Dome-C) using remote sensing and in-situ instrumentation
Year: 2024
Authors: Del Guasta M., Ricaud P., Scarchilli C., Dreossi G.
Autors Affiliation: Natl Inst Opt INO, CNR, Via Madonna Piano 10, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy; CNRS, UMR 3589, CNRM, Meteo France, 42 Av G Coriolis, F-31057 Toulouse, France; ENEA, Lab Observat & Measurements Environm & Climate, SSPT, PROTER,OEM, I-00123 Rome, Italy; Ca Foscari Univ Venice, Dept Environm Sci Informat & Stat, Venice, Italy.
Abstract: Studying precipitation at very high latitudes is a challenge, particularly during the polar winter. Direct toring of ice habit and size in high latitude precipitation is crucial for validating the algorithms used to precipitation from radar, and for improving the climatological modeling of polar areas. The high plateau long-term direct observations of precipitation. In this work, carried out at Concordia Station (Dome-C-75 degrees S, 123 degrees E, 3233 m a.m.s.l), the use of a depolarization LIDAR, a flatbed scanner (ICECAMERA), a microwave profiler (HAMSTRAD) and meteorological instrumentation made possible the study, over the period 2014-2021, of shape, size, height and temperature of formation of precipitation. The precipitation sources were classified into four types: ice fogs, liquid fogs, mixed-phase clouds, and cirrus. Ten representative ice habits for Dome were chosen. The size distribution for every habit was calculated, allowing for the estimation of the sponding radar reflectivity. The use of W-band radars, such as CLOUDSAT, with a sensitivity of-28dB, resulted in capturing all the crystals observed in Concordia. A positive trend was observed between grain size and height in ice habits that are typical of cloud precipitation. North West (NW) and North East (NE) winds at cloud height, blowing from coastal regions, caused the majority of precipitation from clouds. The study also examined height trend of the ice habit composition of precipitation. The ice habit composition for each of the four types precipitation source was analyzed, and the possibility of determining the source by simply observing the cipitation was explored. This work marks the first comprehensive investigation of precipitation on the eastern Antarctic plateau.
Journal/Review: POLAR SCIENCE
Volume: 42 Pages from: 101106-1 to: 101106-19
More Information: We are thankful for the Italian Antarctic Project Progetto Nazionale Ricerche in A ntartide (PNRA) that supported this work with the projects PNRA 2009/A4.1 (ICECAMERA), PNRA 2013/AC3.05 (PRE-REC), PNRA16_00189 (FIRCLOUDS), PNRA18_0058 (ICE-OPT), PNRA18_00031 (WHETSTONE). We are grateful for the local meteorological data and PTU soundings that were provided by the �Osservatorio Meteo-Climatologico Antartico� (PNRA 14_00100). The HAMSTRAD programme was funded by the Institut National des Sciences de l�Univers (INSU)/Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Institut polaire francais Paul-Emile Victor (IPEV), Meteo-France and the Centre National d�Etudes Spatiales (CNES). We are grateful to the logistics staff and winter-over crews at Concordia station: only their hard work in a such harsh environment allowed us to conduct our sci- entific activities. We want to express our gratitude to the winter-over people who have specifically attended LIDAR and ICECAMERA over the years: Xavier Joffrin, Giampietro Casasanta, Vito Stanzione, Laura Caiazzo, Moreno Baricevic, Meganne Christian, Wenceslas Marie Sainte, Rodolfo Canestrari, Angelo Galeandro, Alessia Nicosia.
KeyWords: Ice precipitation; lidar; icecamera; Antarctica; Polar Clouds
DOI: 10.1016/j.polar.2024.101106
