| Issue |
EAS Publications Series
Volume 14, 2005
Dome C Astronomy and Astrophysics Meeting
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 227 - 232 | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/eas:2005035 | |
| Published online | 05 January 2006 | |
M. Giard, F. Casoli and F. Paletou (eds)
EAS Publications Series, 14 (2005) 227-232
Site testing study based on weather balloons measurements
1
LUAN, Université de Nice, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 2, France
2
School of Physics,University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
3
Department of Geography, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
Corresponding author: aristidi@unice.fr
We present wind and temperature profiles at Dome C measured during the polar summer by balloon born sonds. Data from 197 flights have been processed for 4 campaigns between 2000 and 2004. We show the exceptionnal wind conditions at Dome C: averaged ground wind speed is 3.6 m s-1. We noticed in mid-november the presence of high altitude strong winds (40 m s-1) probably due to the polar vortex which disappear in summer. These winds seem to have no effect on seeing measurements made with a DIMM at the same period. Temperature profiles exhibit a minimum at height 5500 m (over the snow surface) that defines the tropopause. Surface layer temperature profile has negative gradient in the first 50 m above ground in the afternoon and a strong inversion layer (5°C over 50 m) around midnight. Wind profiles are compared with other astronomical sites, and with a meteorological model from Meteo France.
© EAS, EDP Sciences, 2005