RECENT TWO DECADES PROGRESSES IN STUDY ON ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES OF THE POLAR REGIONS

The Arctic, Antarctic and Tibetan Plateau regions are the most sensitive areas in the global climate change, and are also the key regions for the global change research. The field investigations in the Antarctic and Arctic regions started in China in the early 1980s and 1990s, respectively. Among the multi-discipline studies, atmospheric science investigations were the important aspects. Up to now, twenty national Antarctic research expeditions and three Arctic expeditions were carried out. Meteorological observations have been continuing at the two year-round stations (Great Wall and Zhongshan) in the Antarctica, and at one station (Yellow River) in the Arctic. These observations include routine ground meteorology, atmospheric ozone by the Brewer, near-surface atmospheric physics, upper-atmospheric physics, atmospheric chemistry and glacio-chemistry. Lots of data were collected and they are valuable for the research with respect of global change. It is concluded that air temperature, ozone and sea ice displayed various spatial and temporal changes. Antarctic Peninsular shows an obvious warming while no obvious trend happened over the East Antarctica, and even a slight cooling for the last decade. Meteorological observations at Great Wall Station and Zhongshan Station verified these trends. Based on EOF analysis of data on Antarctic seaice concent ration (SIC) for the period from 1968 to 1997, it was found two key regions of SIC change displaying a seesaw-form variations. One located in the outer belt of the Ross Sea and the other in Billinghusen Sea close to the Antarctic Peninsula. Sea ice changes, especially over the two key ocean areas, links to the Antarctic Oscillation. Observations of boundary layer parameters for the different underlying surfaces (lands, snow cover, sea ice, ocean surface and vegetation), and these parameters were used for the study of ocean-ice-atmosphere interactions.