What is it about?
The Nares Strait is a 450km long channel between Canada and Greenland. It is bounded by topography with an elevation of 1-2km on both sides. The topographic structure leads to increased wind at the narrow parts of Nares Strait (called “gap flow”). This occurs particularly at the southern end of Nares Strait, at Smith Sound, with has a width of only 40-50km. The structure of this channelled flow in the area of Smith Sound was studied with a research aircraft during experiment IKAPOS (Investigation of Katabatic winds and Polynyas during Summer) in June 2010. Strong winds of up to 22 m/s (corresponding to Beaufort scale 9) were found. Well-pronounced low-level jet systems were documented for each of four flights.
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Why is it important?
The orographically channelled flow through Smith Sound plays a key role for the formation of the North Water polynya being the largest ice producing polynya in the Arctic. For the sea-ice export from the Nares Strait to Baffin Bay, the formation of the North Water polynya as well as for the ocean circulation the local intensification of the wind field by the gap flow is of crucial importance. The IKAPOS data represent a valuable verification data set for regional climate models.
Perspectives
The field campaign that is the basis for this article was a special experience. First, flying with a research aircraft in this impressive landscape is unforgettable. Second, the whole research team stayed for three weeks at the Inuit village Qaanaaq. The experience of learning about the Inuit way of living and thinking is unforgettable, too.
Guenther Heinemann
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: An Aircraft-Based Study of Strong Gap Flows in Nares Strait, Greenland, Monthly Weather Review, November 2018, American Meteorological Society,
DOI: 10.1175/mwr-d-18-0178.1.
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