Precipitation Measurements on the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Shelley L. Knuth1, Gregory J. Tripoli2, and Charles R. Stearns1
1
Antarctic Meteorological Research Center
2
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Madison
947 Space, Science and Engineering Center
1225 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI 53706
Tel: (608) 265-4816 Fax: (608) 263-6738 Email: shelleyk@ssec.wisc.edu
Precipitation estimation over Antarctica presents difficulties not found in the midlatitudes. A lack of in-situ measurements, the determination of falling precipitation
versus blowing snow, and the complexities of estimating snowfall over snow-covered
Antarctica using microwave data are only a few of the problems encountered. This study
uses a variety of methods, including surface measurements, satellite data, and model
simulations, to examine falling precipitation in Antarctica. Acoustic depth gauges,
instrumented on University of Wisconsin Automatic Weather Stations (AWS), provide
ground measurements on and near the Ross Ice Shelf. A combination of polar orbiting
satellite data from Aqua and the NOAA series, including infrared and microwave
channels, determine the presence of storm systems. Further examination of cyclones over
the Ross Ice Shelf are conducted with the University of Wisconsin Non-hydrostatic
Modeling System (UW-NMS), a cloud resolving model, with simulations over Antarctica
run on contrasting precipitating cloud systems. This poster will explore the results of
these three methods in the examination of Antarctic precipitation.