GFDEX: An Insight into Greenland’s Air Currents
20.02.2007 - Logistics, Other
The Greenland Flow Distortion experiment (GFDex) is an International Polar Year project aiming to investigate the role that Greenland plays in distorting atmospheric flow over and around it, thereby influencing both local and downstream weather systems.
At the heart of GFDex are wind patterns known as "tip jets". Greenland forces air to go around its bulk, creating regions of high speed winds blowing heat away from the surface of the ocean. The cooled-down and denser water sinks, affecting currents of circulating warm and cool water within the ocean.
- Tip jets travel east from the tip of Greenland towards Iceland, at speeds of 30 to 40 metres per second.
- Tip jets also blows west towards Labrador. These reverse tip jets, also force circulation of water over the Labrador Sea and the west of Greenland.
The GFDex project will be making the first in situ observations of these jets using a British research aircraft called FAAM (Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements).
Collected data will help scientists understand how the flow of air around Greenland affects weather downwind, in Europe and Asia. The findings may reveal how sea and atmospheric interactions in the Arctic and North Atlantic areas influence climate.
Scientists also hope that the findings will clarify the climate processes affecting Greenland's glaciers, which have shrunk significantly in the past few years.
