Turbulent variables measured at 2.0 m on the top of a steeply sloping ridge in 1998/99.

Turbulence measurements have been performed on the watershed of a steep ridge
315 m high. The measuring site (2.0 m over ground level, the ground level is
about 315 m over MSL) is frequently beaten by katabatic winds flowing from the
Antarctic Plateau toward the Ross sea along the Reeves glacier. The interaction
of the flow with the obstacle strongly perturbs the turbulent structure in the
inner layer and enhances turbulent fluxes. These perturbing effects can also be
observed downstream of the obstacle in the Hells Gate area and in the coastal
sea, where the strength of heat exchange forms a polynya.katabatic winds and
the obstacles strongly characterize the local climatology and affect the ice
mass equilibrium. In the coastal areas, like Nansen Ice Sheet and Hells Gate,
the loss terms prevail on gain terms and, thus, they are particularly important
to understand the climatic trend in Antarctic region.