Simulations of Coastal Polynya Evolution and Atmospheric Impacts in Greenland and Antarctica

This repository contains the simulation data and supporting materials used in the study, which investigates the evolution of coastal polynyas and their atmospheric impacts in both the Arctic and Antarctic. The dataset includes regional climate model (RCM) simulations performed with the Harmonie-Climate (HCLIM) model. Content HCLIM simulation outputs for: Northern Greenland (2018) Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica (2010) Purpose of the Dataset The dataset supports process-based understanding of coastal polynyas and evaluates how improved satellite-derived sea ice boundary conditions affect regional climate model behaviour. It demonstrates that incorporating the higher-resolution ESA CCI sea ice product directly into RCMs can significantly enhance the representation of: Near-coastal atmospheric structure Boundary layer mixing Cloud properties Local meteorological conditions in polynya-affected regions These findings highlight the value of high-resolution Earth Observation data in polar climate modelling and support the integration of such data into data assimilation and reanalysis systems. Methodology Simulations were conducted using the Harmonie-Climate (HCLIM) model with: Spectral nudging of large-scale atmospheric fields A polar-optimised surface scheme Direct ingestion of satellite sea ice concentration datasets Model domains cover: Northern Greenland polynyas during 2018 Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica during 2010