Abstract:
Previous meteorological measurements in the Dry Valley region of South Victoria Land have shown that during summer, there is a well developed diurnal local circulation driven by solar heating/convective effects. This results in winds which alternate between westerlies and easterlies in the Wright Valley. The aim of this study was to investigate the summer wind circulation at Lake Vanda in the
... Wright Valley using both observational and modelling approaches. This work was carried out with a view to classifying the wind system on the basis of the forcing mechanisms and to gain an understanding of the processes producing the system. This project involved making detailed observations of the circulation using an acoustic sounder, pilot balloons and airsondes. A surface based observational network including anemographs, temperature, radiation and humidity sensors was installed in the Wright Valley in late October and monitoring was continued until late January. During the study, four intensive case studies of 24 to 36 hours in length involving regular (approximately 2 hourly) pilot balloon and airsonde soundings and in excess of 45 soundings were carried out. These data will later be used to initialise and validate a simulation of the circulation using a three dimensional mesoscale numerical model. The results will also be used to investigate the consequences for the wind flow in the region of climate change in Antarctica. 
