Meteorological Data from KLAWS-2G for an Astronomical Site Survey of Dome A, Antarctica
Abstract
We present an analysis of meteorological data from the second generation of the Kunlun Automated Weather Station (KLAWS-2G) at Dome A, Antarctica during 2015 and 2016. We find that a strong temperature inversion exists for all the elevations up to 14 m that KLAWS-2G can reach, and lasts for more than 10 hours for 50% or more of the time when temperature inversion occurs. The average wind speeds at 4 m elevation are 4.2 m s-1 and 3.8 m s-1 during 2015 and 2016, respectively. The strong temperature inversion and moderate wind speed lead to a shallow turbulent boundary layer height at Dome A. By analyzing the temperature and wind shear profiles, we note telescopes should be elevated by at least 8 m above the ice. We also find that the duration of temperature inversions and the wind speed vary considerably from year to year. Therefore, long-term and continuous data are still needed for the site survey at Dome A.
- Publication:
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
- Pub Date:
- January 2019
- DOI:
- 10.1088/1538-3873/aae916
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1810.05499
- Bibcode:
- 2019PASP..131a5001H
- Keywords:
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- Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 24 pages, 22 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in PASP