Published February 11, 2025 | Version v1
Dataset Open

High-resolution atmospheric dataset at Deception Island, Antarctica

Authors/Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Genova
  • 2. Università degli Studi di Genova Scuola Politecnica

Description

Dataset Overview

This dataset provides a high-resolution (1 km) atmospheric hindcast for Deception Island, Antarctica, covering the period from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2022. The dataset was produced using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model (Version 4.3.3) through dynamic downscaling of ERA5 reanalysis data to accurately capture small-scale atmospheric interactions over the island and its surroundings.

 

Model Configuration

The WRF model was set up with two nested computational domains:

  • Domain 1: Covers the northernmost part of the Antarctic Peninsula with a 5.0 km horizontal resolution.

  • Domain 2: Encompasses the South Shetland Islands, including Deception Island, with a 1.0 km horizontal resolution. Within this domain a SMALL domain has been selected around the island. 

Both domains use 35 terrain-following vertical levels, with increased resolution near the surface to better capture boundary-layer dynamics.

Validation

Model outputs were validated using observational data from the Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) at the Gabriel de Castilla (GdC) station, located on Deception Island (60°40'31'' W, 62°58'38'' S) at an elevation of 13 m above sea level. This station has been operational since February 2005.

 

Data Structure

The dataset is stored as daily NetCDF files for the 1 km resolution domain (1km-SMALL grid). Each file contains one year of hourly atmospheric data. The grid is a Lambert conformal curvilinear system with dimensions (x=19, y=20).

Each NetCDF file follows this naming format:

WRF_ANTARCTICA_1km_<YY>_SMALL.nc

where <YY> represents the year of the simulation.

Key Variables

The dataset includes 161 atmospheric variables, such as:

  • Wind components: UGRD_10maboveground, VGRD_10maboveground

  • Pressure: PRMSL_meansealevel

  • Temperature: TMP_2maboveground

  • Humidity: SPFH_2maboveground

  • Precipitation: APCP_surface

The complete list of variables is:

Variable Long Name Units Levels
PRMSL_meansealevel Pressure Reduced to MSL Pa mean sea level
MSLET_meansealevel MSLP (Eta model reduction) Pa Mean sea level
MSLMA_meansealevel MSLP (MAPS System Reduction) Pa Mean sea level
PRES_surface Pressure Pa Surface
HGT_surface Geopotential Height m Surface
TMP_surface Temperature K Surface
WEASD_surface Water Equivalent of Accumulated Snow Depth kg/m$^2$ Surface
SNOWC_surface Snow Cover Percent Surface
SNOD_surface Snow Depth m Surface
PRATE_surface Precipitation Rate kg/m^2/s Surface
APCP_surface Total Precipitation kg/m^2 Surface
ACPCP_surface Convective Precipitation kg/m^2 Surface
NCPCP_surface Large-Scale Precipitation (non-convective) kg/m^2 Surface
PEVAP_surface Potential Evaporation kg/m^2 Surface
SFCR_surface Surface Roughness m Surface
FRICV_surface Frictional Velocity m/s Surface
SHTFL_surface Sensible Heat Net Flux W/m^2 Surface
LHTFL_surface Latent Heat Net Flux W/m^2 Surface
CAPE_surface Convective Available Potential Energy J/kg Surface
CIN_surface Convective Inhibition J/kg Surface
HPBL_surface Planetary Boundary Layer Height m Surface
NLAT_surface Latitude (-90 to 90) deg Surface
ELON_surface East Longitude (0 to 360) deg Surface
LAND_surface Land Cover (0=sea, 1=land) Proportion Surface
ICEC_surface Ice Cover Proportion Surface
WTMP_surface Water Temperature K Surface
VIS_surface Visibility m surface
GUST_surface Wind Speed (Gust) m/s surface
HGT_Pmb Geopotential Height m P mb
      P: 200, 300, 500, 700, 800, 850, 875, 900, 925,
      950, 975, 1000
TMP_Pmb Temperature K P  mb
      P: 200, 300, 500, 700, 800, 850, 875, 900, 925, 950, 975, 1000
SPFH_Pmb Specific Humidity kg/kg P  mb
      P: 200, 300, 500, 700, 800, 850, 875, 900, 925, 950, 975, 1000
VVEL_Pmb Vertical Velocity (Pressure) Pa/s P  mb
      P: 200, 300, 500, 700, 800, 850
UGRD_Pmb U-Component of Wind m/s P  mb
      P: 200, 300, 500, 700, 800, 850, 875, 900, 925, 950, 975, 1000
VGRD_Pmb V-Component of Wind m/s P mb
      P: 200, 300, 500, 700, 800, 850, 875, 900, 925, 950, 975, 1000
ABSV_Pmb Absolute Vorticity 1/s P  mb
      P: 200, 300, 500, 700, 800, 850
CLWMR_Pmb Cloud Mixing Ratio kg/kg P  mb
      P: 200, 300, 500, 700, 800, 850, 875, 900, 925, 950, 975, 1000
CICE_Pmb Cloud Ice kg/m^2 P  mb
      P: 200, 300, 500, 700, 800, 850, 875, 900, 925, 950, 975, 1000
TMP_2maboveground Temperature K 2 m above ground
SPFH_2maboveground Specific Humidity kg/kg 2 m above ground
DPT_2maboveground Dew Point Temperature K 2 m above ground
RH_2maboveground Relative Humidity % 2 m above ground
UGRD_Lmaboveground U-Component of Wind m/s L m above ground
      L: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 80
VGRD_Lmaboveground V-Component of Wind m/s L m above ground
      L: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 80
SNOHF_10maboveground Snow Phase Change Heat Flux W/m^2 10 m above ground
REFD_4000maboveground Reflectivity dB 4000 m above ground
UGRD_30M0mbaboveground U-Component of Wind m/s 30-0 mb above ground
VGRD_30M0mbaboveground V-Component of Wind m/s 30-0 mb above ground
SPFH_30M0mbaboveground Specific Humidity kg/kg 30-0 mb above ground
HGT_0Cisotherm Geopotential Height m 0C Isotherm
  (0C Isotherm)    
REFC_P Composite reflectivity dB Entire Atmosphere (Single Layer)
      P: entireatmosphere_consideredasasinglelayer
PWAT_P Precipitable Water kg/m^2 Entire Atmosphere (Single Layer)
      P: entireatmosphere_consideredasasinglelayer
TCOLW_P Total Column-Integrated Cloud Water kg/m^2 Entire Atmosphere (Single Layer)
      P: entireatmosphere_consideredasasinglelayer_
TCOLI_P Total Column-Integrated Cloud Ice kg/m^2 Entire Atmosphere (Single Layer)
      P: entireatmosphere_consideredasasinglelayer_
TCOLR_P Total Column Integrated Rain kg/m^2 Entire Atmosphere (Single Layer)
      P: entireatmosphere_consideredasasinglelayer_
TCOLS_P Total Column Integrated Snow kg/m^2 Entire Atmosphere (Single Layer)
      P: entireatmosphere_consideredasasinglelayer_
TCOLC_P Total Column-Integrated Condensate kg/m^2 Entire Atmosphere (Single Layer)
      P: entireatmosphere_consideredasasinglelayer_
TCDC_P Total Cloud Cover Percent Entire Atmosphere (Single Layer)
      P: entireatmosphere_consideredasasinglelayer_
LCDC_lowcloudlayer Low Cloud Cover Percent Low Cloud Layer
MCDC_middlecloudlayer Medium Cloud Cover Percent Middle Cloud Layer
HCDC_highcloudlayer High Cloud Cover Percent High Cloud Layer
HGT_cloudbase Geopotential Height (Cloud Base) m Cloud Base
HGT_cloudceiling Geopotential Height (Cloud Ceiling) m Cloud Ceiling
HGT_cloudtop Geopotential Height (Cloud Top) m Cloud Top
HGT_tropopause Geopotential Height (Tropopause) m Tropopause

 

 

Files

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