Three temporary Automatic Weather Stations measured summertime surface layer climate over the Darwin–Hatherton Glacial system. These data were used to test a Polar optimized Weather Research and Forecasting model (Polar-WRF) simulation for December as a case study. Observations show differences in hourly averaged solar and net all-wave radiation between white ice and blue ice areas (BIAs). Although the down-welling solar radiation is higher over the white ice region, the net all-wave energy is higher over the BIA. Derived albedo for each surface type confirms that the blue ice areas have lower albedo. Also, the hourly averaged temperatures are higher at lower elevation stations, creating a gradient towards the Ross Ice Shelf. Analysis shows that there is a diurnal oscillation in strength and intensity of the katabatic wind. The two lower stations register a distinct reversal of wind direction in the early afternoon due to intrusion of an anabatic circulation. Anabatic winds are not prevalent further up the Darwin Glacier. A high-resolution Polar-WRF simulation as a case study shows good agreement with observations. The December 2008 case study is characterized by a strong south-westerly katabatic wind over Hatherton, whereas the flow over Lower Darwin was diurnally reversing. Polar-WRF shows that the katabatic front advanced and retreated periodically between Hatherton and Lower Darwin.

Seasonal variation of temperature, pressure, snow accumulation, winds, and their harmonic analysis are presented by using the data from Zhongshan Station and three Automatic Weather Stations deployed between the East Antarctic coast and the summit of the ice sheet at Dome A for the period 2005–07. Results show that: 1) temperature, snow accumulation and specific humidity decrease with increasing elevation and distance from the coast, with snow accumulation decreasing from 199 mm water equivalent (w.e.) yr-1 at LGB69 (180 km from the coast) to 31 mm w.e. yr-1 at Dome A, 2) Dome A experiences an extremely low minimum temperature of -82.5°C with the monthly mean temperature below -50°C for eight months in contrast to Zhongshan Station which does not show any monthly mean temperatures below -20°C, 3) mean surface wind speed increases from the coast to the escarpment region, and then reduces rapidly towards the interior plateau with the strongest winds occurring at katabatic sites with the greatest surface slopes, 4) temperature and pressure all shows a distinct biannual oscillation with a main minimum in spring and a secondary minimum in autumn, differing slightly from station to station, and 5) winter temperature corelessness increases as a function of elevation and distance from the coast, from 0.260 at the coastal Zhongshan Station to 0.433 at Dome A.

Direct numerical simulation (DNS) is applied to investigate properties of katabatic and anabatic flows along thermally perturbed (in terms of surface buoyancy flux) sloping surfaces in the absence of rotation. Numerical experiments are conducted for homogeneous surface forcings over infinite planar slopes. The simulated flows are the turbulent analogs of the Prandtl (1942) one-dimensional laminar slope flow. The simulated flows achieve quasi-steady periodic regimes at large times, with turbulent fluctuations being modified by persistent low-frequency oscillatory motions with frequency equal to the product of the ambient buoyancy frequency and the sine of the slope angle. These oscillatory wave-type motions result from interactions between turbulence and ambient stable stratification despite the temporal constancy of the surface buoyant forcing. The structure of the mean-flow fields and turbulence statistics in simulated slope flows is analyzed. An integral dynamic similarity constraint for steady slope/wall flows forced by surface buoyancy flux is proposed and quantitatively verified against the DNS data.

An analysis is made of the climate of the Australian Antarctic station Mawson (67.6°S, 62.9°E) and its hinterland in the light of 30 years of observations and of previous investigations. Data are presented on free atmosphere temperature and wind structure, the synoptic meteorology of the region, solar radiation, surface temperature, sea ice, wind and weather. Emphasis is placed on the characteristics of the shallow south easterly katabatic winds averaging 11.1 m s−1 throughout the year and the frequent periods of intense gale associated with the effects of major Southern Ocean depressions. The climate of Mawson is believed to be typical of much of the coast of East Antarctica in regions where the ice-cap falls steeply to sea level.