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arXiv · 1810.05499

Meteorological data from KLAWS-2G for an astronomical site survey of Dome A, Antarctica

Yi Hu·Keliang Hu·Zhaohui Shang·Bin Ma·Fujia Du·Zhengyang Li·Qiang Liu·Wei Wang·Shihai Yang·Ce Yu·Zhen Zeng
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Abstract

We present an analysis of meteorological data from the second generation of the Kunlun Automated Weather Station (KLAWS-2G) at Dome A, Antarctica during 2015 and 2016. We find that a strong temperature inversion exists for all the elevations up to 14 m that KLAWS-2G can reach, and lasts for more than 10 hours for 50% or more of the time when temperature inversion occurs. The average wind speeds at 4 m elevation are 4.2 m/s and 3.8 m/s during 2015 and 2016, respectively. The strong temperature inversion and moderate wind speed lead to a shallow turbulent boundary layer height at Dome A. By analyzing the temperature and wind shear profiles, we note telescopes should be elevated by at least 8 m above the ice. We also find that the duration of temperature inversions, and the wind speed, vary considerably from year to year. Therefore, long-term and continuous data are still needed for the site survey at Dome A.

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Yi Hu, Keliang Hu, Zhaohui Shang, Bin Ma, Fujia Du, Zhengyang Li, Qiang Liu, Wei Wang, Shihai Yang, Ce Yu, Zhen Zeng. 2018-10-12. Meteorological data from KLAWS-2G for an astronomical site survey of Dome A, Antarctica. https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873%2Faae916

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