Katabatic Winds on Ice Sheets: A Refinement of the Prandtl Model

Abstract

Katabatic winds on ice sheets and glaciers are buoyancy-driven flows, much like turbidity currents in the ocean. These winds are driven by radiative cooling of the ice surface and are not resolved by the typical horizontal and vertical discretization of general circulation models; therefore, a parameterization of their magnitude is desirable. In this paper, it is shown that the simplest such parameterization, based on the classical Prandtl model of slope winds, is physically inadmissible, and an improved model, which removes this irregularity, is presented. It is also shown that the improved model allows favorable comparison with both observations and regional numerical models.