As the summit of the Antarctic Plateau, Dome A has been received international attentions. In this paper, observational data of an automatic weather station (AWS) at Dome A in 2005-2007 were used to analyze the seasonal variations of air temperatures near the ground and snow temperatures within a depth of 10 m. Analyses on the air temperatures show a typical feature of the coreless winter, and strong inversion maintains during the long winter. Accordingly the stratification near the ground is dominated by the near-neutral stable states. Seasonal fluctuations of the snow temperature decrease in amplitude and lag in phase with depth increasing, which leads to distinct seasonal temperature profiles within the depth of 10 m. Measurements show the mean annual air temperature near ground is about 5°C higher than the 10 m firn temperature due to the strong inversion near the ground. However, our estimation of the annual mean of air temperature at the ground based on the boundary layer theory is close to the mean 10 m firn temperature. The lowest air temperature (-82.7°C) currently measured at the Dome A is not the lowest one ever recorded in Antarctica, but the extremely low mean 10 m firn temperature (-58.2°C) indicates very low ground temperature. Given the prominent inversion near the ground, it is expected that Dome A might house the lowest ground temperature on the planet.Antarctic Plateau, Dome A, near-ground temperature, surface temperature, 10 m firn temperature Citation:Chen B L, Zhang R H, Xiao C D, et al. Analyses on the air and snow temperatures near ground with observations of an AWS at Dome A, the summit of
A vertical one-dimensional numerical model for heat transferring within the near-surface snow layer of the Antarctic Ice Sheet was developed based on simplified parameterizations of associated physical processes for the atmosphere, radiation, and snow/ice systems. Using the meteorological data of an automatic weather station (AWS) at Dome A (80°22′S, 70°22′E), we applied the model to simulate the seasonal temperature variation within a depth of 20 m. Comparison of modeled results with observed snow temperatures at 4 measurement depths (0.1, 1, 3, 10 m) shows good agreement and consistent seasonal variations. The model results reveal the vertical temperature structure within the near-surface snow layer and its seasonal variance with more details than those by limited measurements. Analyses on the model outputs of the surface energy fluxes show that: 1) the surface energy balance at Dome A is characterized by the compensation between negative net radiation and the positive sensible fluxes, and 2) the sensible heat is on average transported from the atmosphere to the snow, and has an evident increase in spring. The results are considered well representative for the highest interior Antarctic Plateau.Antarctic Ice Sheet, near-surface layer, energy transfer, numerical model Citation:Chen B L, Zhang R H, Sun S F, et al. A one-dimensional heat transfer model of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and modeling of snow temperatures at Dome
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