Wind pattern over Greenland
What makes traveling with the windsledge possible, and particular ideal for travelling in the Antarctic and Greenland, is the topographic of the icecaps along with the presence of the stable and consistent in direction katabatic winds,
The winds that flows respectively clockwise in Greenland and anticlockwise in the Antarctic (coriolis force), are formed by cold air (heavy air) from top of the ice plateau, gravitating downward toward the warmer air along the cost. This down sloping movement creates the katabatic wind. The direction is mostly vertical to the elevation contour lines, with wind speeds increasing with the angle of the slopes.
The winds that flows respectively clockwise in Greenland and anticlockwise in the Antarctic (coriolis force), are formed by cold air (heavy air) from top of the ice plateau, gravitating downward toward the warmer air along the cost. This down sloping movement creates the katabatic wind. The direction is mostly vertical to the elevation contour lines, with wind speeds increasing with the angle of the slopes.
In Greenland the winds will most likely be strongest and most stable on the west coast, weaker between 77 and 80° N, and more unstable in the mountainous areas on the east coast and in the south.
In some areas the wind speed will not uncommonly reach 40-60 km/h for several days. Under particular circumstances when a low pressure approaches the coast, the wind speed can reach up to a scary 300km/h, this is also called Piteraq which means “that which attacks you”
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| The Greenland " katabatic wind" |
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