Turbulent energy exchanges over a non-glaciated coastal area on King George Island during four summer seasons

Abstract

Recently, the Antarctic Peninsula has received more attention due to the pronounced warming in that region. Non-glaciated coastal areas on the Peninsula can be significant energy sources for the atmosphere when they are exposed during summer despite the high cloudiness associated with the frequent passage of low pressure systems. An eddy covariance system was established in December 2002 to evaluate the turbulent energy exchanges between the atmosphere and a non-glaciated coastal area on King George Island. Based on the results, the sum of monthly average sensible heat and latent heat fluxes amounted up to ~ 80 Wm-2, which was an order of magnitude larger than those at glaciated areas on the Antarctic Peninsula.