The polar regions: A natural laboratory for boundary layer meteorology - A review

Abstract

Polar regions offer the opportunity to study many processes under strongly simplified conditions ('natural laboratory'). For example, the plateau areas of the polar ice sheets represent areas with an almost ideal homogeneous surface over a scale of several 100 km, which are extraordinary suited for studies of the stable boundary layer (SBL). In coastal areas we find often a transition of the SBL to a convective boundary layer (CBL) over polynyas, which allows for near-ideal studies of internal boundary layers. The sea ice areas in polar regions are another example for natural laboratory conditions, since they represent large areas with well-defined heterogeneities of two surface types. The present review shows examples of how the polar areas can be used as a natural laboratory for field experiments in the Arctic and Antarctic with a focus on the work performed by German research groups. © Gebrüder Borntraeger, Berlin, Stuttgart 2008.