Les conditions météorologiques en Arctique

Elena Maksimovich

photo NABOS expedition, August 2006

Arctic Weather is controlled by :

Large scale air mass movement &

interaction

Surface state : open sea or sea ice cover

sea ice concentrations

extent/shape !!!

Iceberg size up to 320m x 280m x 40m

Sea Ice 1-6 m thickness

with pressure ridges up to 20 m high

Iceberg : continental snow accumulation due to precipitation

Sea Ice : frozen sea water

photo NABOS expedition, August 2006

Arctic Icebergs and Sea Ice

sea ice drift 24-27 April 2007 50 km within 3 days

Fanny Girard-Ardhuin

5-20 km/day 10-80 km/week

transpolar sea ice drift

common iceberg tracks

iceberg calving areas

drift speed

2007

Kwok et al., 2009

Vihma et al., 2008, GRL

April May June July Aug Sept

April May June July Aug Sept

2m

air

te

mp

era

ture

°C

10

m w

ind

sp

eed

m/s

ec

Meteorological observations in the Arctic Ocean

Tara drift in 2007 (March-Sept)

SHEBA drift in 1998 (March-Sept)

Russian ice drifting stations in 1936-1991

September Sea Ice extent in 1979-1983

September Sea Ice extent in 2007

daily mean values

water temperature +2 / -2°C

cold air sliding underneath -30/-40°C

HIGH pressure

warm air rising

Air masses

cold air outbreak

Large thermal differences create favorable conditions for cyclone development &

regeneration !!!

convection within the

lowest 1-2 km

convective clouds are aligned in the wind direction

sea ice

open sea

-10/+2°C LOW pressure

sea ice

summer

winter

Siberia

Alaska

Norway

Norway

Siberia

Alaska

Strom Tracks

North Pole

North Pole

maps : Canadian Coast Guard www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca

TYPICAL = ONLY POSSIBLE

Cyclones are much stronger & progress

faster in winter

In summer cyclones often shape also

within the coastal areas

Polar Lows

build-up within a few hours

100-500 km diameter

1-2 day lifetime

winds up to 35 m/s (70 kts)

mostly in winter

Polar Low regions

Turner, 2003 Noer, 2009

up to 15 Polar Lows per month in the

Barents Sea

development of convective clouds

sudden & unexpected drop in sea level pressure

rapid increase in wind (15 kts to 45 kts in less than 15 minutes)

heavy snow flurries at a ship or land station

“black eye” in the center of

the white cloud field = danger!

Polar Low indicators

Satellite image and ptoto at Andøya, Norway, 4 March 2008 Dörnbrack et al., 2011

frost/icing le givre

photo NABOS expedition, August 2006

Arctic FOG and HAZE

FOG : primarily a summer-time phenomenon (June-August)

warm moist air (+10°C) from Siberia, Alaska, Canada moves over colder sea ice and open sea (-10-0°C); or cold air (-20°C) advection over warmer open sea (-10-0°C) ice crystals of the fog perturb the radar signature visibility < 1.5 km

HAZE : mostly in spring on clear sky days

high concentration of dust particles “locked” in the boundary layer vertically 100m - up to 1 km height stretching within 10-200 km distances visibility < 3-5 km

photo Ann-Christineengvall

Ny-Alesund, Svalbard spring 2006

HAZE

Satellite data : water vapor, ice & liquid water content,

wind speed, sea ice concentrations/drift

INFO on current weather & sea ice conditions

Ground-based observations coastal stations, drifting buoys, ship reports

Numerical weather analysis/forecast for ex, TOPAZ ice model for Barents Sea

22:30 GMT 4 Feb 2012 NOAA GOES

SeaWinds on QuikSCAT

Real-Time satellite retrievals of the wind speed & direction

Polar Orbiting Satellites

14 times daily

wind speed

is traced by cloud

displacement

www.stratus.ssec.wisc.edu/products/rtpolarwinds/ (MODIS and AVHRR sensors)

12:30 GMT 1 Feb 2012

13:07 GMT 1 Feb 2012

14:49 GMT 1 Feb 2012

from NE 60 nots

from NE 20 nots

winds above 400 mb (7 km) winds within 400-700 mb

winds below 700 mb (3 km)

Real-Time and FREE Numerical Weather Data and Forecast

for individual Arctic sectors

Norwegian Meteorological Institute http://met.no

Met Office, UK

www.metoffice.gov.uk

NOAA National Weather Service www.nws.noaa.gov

Environment Canada

www.weatheroffice.gc.ca

Russian Hydro-Meteorological Inst.

http://esimo.ru (only in russian)

Intern. Arctic Buoy Programme http://iabp.apl.washington.edu

Technology for Iceberg Detection and Tracking

courtesy K.J. Eik, 2009; G. Broström et al., 2009

Iceberg drift in 1988

(buoy data)

Sea Ice and Iceberg Drift Forecast

requires real-time and high resolution :

weather forecast

pressure, wind, air temperature

oceanographic data

currents, water temperatures, tides, waves

ice observations

thickness, concentrations, roughness

photo Sveinung Løset

International Ice Patrol (US) www.uscg.mil/lantarea/iip/home.html

Norwegian Meteorological Institute TOPAZ model in 2-4 km resolution

http://met.no

Real-Time Iceberg detection and tracking

Courtesy I. Keghouche, 2010

sources of icebergs Shtokman Gaz Condensate Field

ocean currents

Courtesy F. Counillon, 2011

Random Iceberg drift experiment

Zolo

tou

khin, 2

00

9 Canadian East Coast, 1986

OIL !!

Shtokman

oil tanker Overseas Ohio, 2003 iceberg damage

Intelligent managing needed !!!

Thank you for your attention

20 photo: François Bernard