Polar MM5 Model Output for Antarctica and Southern Ocean, 1993

72-hour non-hydrostatic forecasts were run for a full year over Antarctica and the high-latitude Southern Ocean. The Polar MM5 model, a version of the MM5 modified for ice sheets, produced this data at a 60-km horizontal resolution with 28 vertical levels. Initial conditions were derived from ECMWF global analyses and DMSP SSM/I sea ice concentration data.

Use Cases

• Validate regional climate models based on the high-resolution 60-km grid and year-long temporal coverage.
• Study atmospheric boundary layer processes over ice shelves using the model's 28 vertical sigma levels.
• Analyze the influence of sea ice concentration on polar weather using the incorporated SSM/I data.
• Investigate model spin-up effects by comparing the discarded first 24 hours of each forecast with later output.

Strengths

• Covers a full calendar year (January to December 1993) for temporal completeness.
• Uses a high-resolution 60-km horizontal grid with 120 points in each direction.
• Incorporates multiple authoritative data sources for initial conditions, including ECMWF analysis and DMSP SSM/I data.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• Data is in native MM5 format, which may require specific tools for access and analysis.

Provenance

Source

Polar Meteorology Group, Byrd Polar Research Center

Collection Method

Output from a series of 72-hour Polar MM5 model forecasts.

Time Range

1993

Freshness

null

Geography

Antarctica and the high-latitude Southern Ocean