FRAMZY 1999 - First Field Experiment in Cyclones over the Fram Strait and their Impact on Sea Ice

Abstract:
The Fram Strait Cyclone Experiment, FRAMZY 1999, took place in the Fram Strait and Greenland Sea region during April 1999. Using aircraft, ice buoys, ship and satellite measurements a data set was compiled to investigate the properties of Fram Strait cyclones, their cyclogenetic conditions on the large- and meso-scale, and their local effects on sea ice drift and sea ice distribution and, thus, on the freshwater flow through the Fram Strait. The data were used for validation of cyclone simulations with coupled mesoscale models of the atmosphere-ice-ocean system. FRAMZY 1999 was the first one in a series of five field experiments (2002,2007,2008,2009) carried out in the frame of the Collaborative Research Centre 512 (Cyclones and the North Atlantic Climate System) funded by the German Science Foundation. In addition to the published datasets several other measurements were performed during the experiment. Corresonding datasets will be published in the near future and are available on request. Details about all used platforms and sensors and all performed measurements are listed in the fieldreport. The following datasets are available on request: ground data at RV Valdivia