The detection and analysis of a gravity wave observed over Casey in East Antarctica using radiosonde data

Abstract

Casey station in East Antarctica is prone to storms of hurricane-force easterly winds in situations where deep cyclones track eastward just off the coast of Casey. However, the strong wind experienced at Casey is more than simply synoptically driven and appears to be sensitive to atmospheric stability and strongly influenced by the flow around Law Dome, situated to the southeast. A strong wind event on 12 January 1993 is analysed in some detail using radiosonde data and the flow at Casey argued to be in response to a transient orographic gravity wave generated by the flow over Law Dome.