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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/5854| Title: | Prevailing wind directions in the Arctic Ocean |
| Authors: | United States. Advanced Research Projects Agency Bilello, Michael A. |
| Keywords: | Wind direction Wind measurement Wind (meteorology) Arctic regions Polar regions Meteorological charts Meteorological data EPOLAR |
| Publisher: | Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |
| Series/Report no.: | Research report (Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.)) ; 306. |
| Description: | Research Report Abstract: Prevailing monthly and seasonal surface wind directions were obtained from 1) weather records for 21 coastal stations around the Arctic Ocean and 2) a series of U.S. Navy wind charts for 15 to 20 locations in the arctic marginal seas and the ocean's interior. This information was combined and analyzed to develop 2 charts which depict the surface flow of air in these areas during the mid-summer and mid-winter months. Since the ice floe stations used in the offshore wind analysis are not permanently located, the Arctic Ocean was selectively divided into 6 zones. Three of these zones separate Polar regions north of 84°N latitude, and 3 other zones each separate the seas bordering the north coasts of Europe, Siberian Russia and North America. Except for a few stations where wind directions are apparently controlled by local influences the results showed the following mid-winter patterns: 1) a near anticlockwise flow within the circle north of 75°N, 2) winds from the north in and near the Chukchi and Bering Seas, 3) northeast winds along the Alaskan coast and northwest along the Canadian Archipelago Islands, and 4) southwest and southeast winds along the northern coasts of Europe and Asia respectively. Although the wind directions during mid-summer become more variable the study showed that the prevailing surface winds for most areas in this season are nearly opposite those observed in winter. |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/5854 |
| Appears in Collections: | Research Report |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRREL-Research-Report-306.pdf | 5.69 MB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |