The mid- and high-latitude region of the Southern Hemisphere suffers from erroneous weather forecasting owing to insufficient observation networks, particularly in the Antarctic.
The mid- and high-latitude region of the Southern Hemisphere suffers from erroneous weather forecasting owing to insufficient observation networks, particularly in the Antarctic. While radiosonde observations are an option, they are costly and environmentally hazardous. Now, researchers from Japan have addressed this gap, showing that the forecasting accuracy can be continuously improved and made sustainable through the implementation of observation data from the PANSY radar at Syowa Station in the Antarctic.
Studying atmospheric circulations is essential for predicting weather conditions and preparing for future weather disturbances. In the Southern Hemisphere, meteorological observing stations have been implemented for analyzing the weather conditions. However, owing to their scattered distribution over the Antarctic, the observational data is often riddled with errors and uncertainties that hamper the reproducibility of atmospheric circulations in the region.
One way to improve the forecasting accuracy is by using observation data from a radiosonde, a battery-powered telemetry instrument carried into the atmosphere by a weather balloon. While this reduces uncertainty and error in weather forecasts, radiosondes are expensive, logistically limited, and environmentally hazardous since they leave waste over the land and ocean. This raises an important question: is it possible to improve weather forecasting predictions in the Southern Hemisphere in a sustainable manner?
Read more at National Institute of Polar Research
Photo Credit: MartinFuchs via Pixabay
