Satellite Study of Atmospheric Cyclones and Rivers Around Antarctica

Synoptic scale and mesoscale cyclones and atmospheric rivers (AR) are key elements of atmospheric circulation over the polar oceans. They determine the weather conditions in the Southern Ocean, impact strongly on evolution of the sea ice surrounding Antarctica and on the variations of Antarctica ice balance. The increased values of total water vapor content
$V$
, total cloud liquid water content
$Q$
, near surface wind speed
$W$
and precipitation are observed in cyclones and AR areas. In our research, these phenomena were considered using the brightness temperatures
$T_{\mathrm{B}}(v)$
at frequencies
$v$
in the range of 6–190 GHz acquired by AMSR2, GMI and MTVZA-GY microwave radiometers in 2019–2020. The fields of
$V,\ Q,\ W$
, and the mean sea surface slopes were retrieved from the measured
$T_{\mathrm{B}}(v)$
and GPM DPR by application of the known and original algorithms. The ancillary data consisted of scatterometer-derived wind fields, visible and infrared satellite images, radiosonde data and surface analysis charts.