极地研究

极地研究 ›› 2011, Vol. 22 ›› Issue (1-English): 17-24.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1085.2011.00017

• 研究论文 • 上一篇    下一篇

Impacts of snow accumulation on air temperature measured by automatic weather stations on the Antarctic ice sheet

MA YongFeng1,2*, BIAN LinGen1 & XIAO CunDe1,3   

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China;
    2 College of Earth Science, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
    3 State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
  • 收稿日期:2011-01-06 修回日期:2011-01-20 出版日期:1961-03-30 发布日期:1961-03-30
  • 通讯作者: MA YongFeng

Impacts of snow accumulation on air temperature measured by automatic weather stations on the Antarctic ice sheet

MA YongFeng1,2*, BIAN LinGen1 & XIAO CunDe1,3   

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China;
    2 College of Earth Science, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
    3 State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
  • Received:2011-01-06 Revised:2011-01-20 Online:1961-03-30 Published:1961-03-30
  • Contact: MA YongFeng

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摘要：

The heights of automatic weather station (AWS) sensors over the Antarctic ice sheet are nominal and change with snow accumulation or ablation. Therefore, the measured data may not be used directly. In this study, we analyzed the impact of snow accumulation on AWS observations using continuous measurements from three AWS that were deployed on the traverse route from the Zhongshan Station to Dome A over East Antarctica. We then corrected the measured air temperature to account for changes in the sensor height relative to the snow surface to improve the authenticity and representativeness of the observation data from the AWS. The results show that (i) the annual mean snow accumulations at Dome A, Eagle and LGB69 were approximately 0.11 m, 0.30 m and 0.49 m, respectively, and the corresponding annual mean air temperature differences between the corrected and measured values at 1 m in height were 0.34℃, 0.29℃ and 0.35℃; (ii) the impact on air temperature from accumulation decreases with height from the surface; (iii) the air temperature difference between the corrected and measured values was not directly proportional to the snow accumulation but was related to the seasonal air temperature variations and the intensity of the local surface inversion; and (iv) the averaged corrected air temperature was higher than the measured values except during the summer when there were days without temperature inversion. The magnitude of the temperature difference between the corrected and measured was mainly determined by snow accumulation and the intensity of the local surface inversion.

关键词: AWS, snow accumulation, temperature correction

Abstract:

The heights of automatic weather station (AWS) sensors over the Antarctic ice sheet are nominal and change with snow accumulation or ablation. Therefore, the measured data may not be used directly. In this study, we analyzed the impact of snow accumulation on AWS observations using continuous measurements from three AWS that were deployed on the traverse route from the Zhongshan Station to Dome A over East Antarctica. We then corrected the measured air temperature to account for changes in the sensor height relative to the snow surface to improve the authenticity and representativeness of the observation data from the AWS. The results show that (i) the annual mean snow accumulations at Dome A, Eagle and LGB69 were approximately 0.11 m, 0.30 m and 0.49 m, respectively, and the corresponding annual mean air temperature differences between the corrected and measured values at 1 m in height were 0.34℃, 0.29℃ and 0.35℃; (ii) the impact on air temperature from accumulation decreases with height from the surface; (iii) the air temperature difference between the corrected and measured values was not directly proportional to the snow accumulation but was related to the seasonal air temperature variations and the intensity of the local surface inversion; and (iv) the averaged corrected air temperature was higher than the measured values except during the summer when there were days without temperature inversion. The magnitude of the temperature difference between the corrected and measured was mainly determined by snow accumulation and the intensity of the local surface inversion.

Key words: AWS, snow accumulation, temperature correction