*Yoshihiro Tomikawa1,2, Kaoru Sato3, Yoshitaka Saito4, Isao Murata5, Naohiko Hirasawa1,2, Masashi Kohma3, Kyoichi Nakashino6, Daisuke Akita7, Takuma Matsuo8, Masatomo Fujiwara9, Lihito Yoshida2
(1.National Institute of Polar Research, 2.School of Multidisciplinary Sciences, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, 3.Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 4.Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 5.Graduate school of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, 6.School of Engineering, Tokai University, 7.School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 8.School of Science and Technology, Meiji University, 9.Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University)
Keywords:Gravity wave, Super pressure balloon, Antarctic, PANSY radar
Atmospheric gravity waves transport momentum in the atmosphere and play an important role in determining temperature and material distribution through driving the meridional circulation in the middle atmosphere. However, they have wide spatial and temporal scales, which make it difficult to capture the whole feature of gravity waves with any of the latest observations and models. The first Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere (MST)/ Incoherent Scatter (IS) radar in the Antarctic, PANSY, which was installed at Syowa Station in 2011, can directly estimate the momentum flux of gravity waves in all frequency bands by observing 3-dimensional winds with high precision and high resolution. On the other hand, the super pressure (SP) balloon observation can also estimate momentum transport due to gravity waves in all frequency bands, and its horizontal distribution is also clarified. In order to carry out this SP balloon observation in the Antarctic where the observational constraint on the momentum transport due to gravity waves is especially insufficient, we proposed the LOng-Duration balloon Experiment of gravity WAVE over Antarctica (LODEWAVE). By combining it with the PANSY observation and the state-of-the-art meteorological reanalysis data, the 3-dimensional picture of momentum transport due to gravity waves is acquired, which contributes to the improvement of the future prediction by the climate model.
We have performed a test production of SP balloon and onboard instruments during FY 2019. The further development and test of the SP balloon and onboard instruments was carried out in FY 2020. In the latter half of FY 2021, a maximum of 3 SP balloon observations will be carried out at Syowa Station in the Antarctic. By developing the SP balloon and onboard instruments which are light and small enough to ease the restrictions of the Civil Aeronautics Act, we aim to establish a regular observation system in the Antarctic.