Original Research Papers

Fine structure of a Greenland reverse tip jet: a numerical simulation

Authors:

Abstract

Reverse tip jets are strong low-level winds with easterly component that form near the southern tip of Greenland. In the present study, a reverse tip jet case which occurred from 21 to 22 December 2000 was examined to clarify its fine structure using a numerical model with a horizontal resolution of 3 km. The reverse tip jet, showing the supergeostrophic wind speed with a maximum wind speed in excess of 45 m s-1, extended from the east coast of Greenland to the west of Cape Farewell with anticyclonic curvature. A cloud free region coincided with the jet indicated that there was a mesoscale downdraft. Along the eastern edge of the jet, a banded cloud formed between the upstream easterly wind and the colder northerly wind that is a part of the jet and is located along the east coast. This cloud was associated with large gradients in surface wind speed, temperature, moisture, and heat flux. A maximum surface total heat flux of 300Wm-2 coincided with the location of the jet. It is suggested that the orographic deflection byGreenland’s large-scale topography as well as small-scale downslope winds behind mountains with fiords causes the reverse tip jet.

  • Year: 2009
  • Volume: 61 Issue: 4
  • Page/Article: 512–526
  • DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0870.2009.00399.x
  • Submitted on 17 Dec 2007
  • Accepted on 2 Mar 2009
  • Published on 1 Jan 2009
  • Peer Reviewed