Application of an atmospheric tracer model to high southern latitudes

Abstract

We discuss the development of a global three‐dimensional tracer model and use it to examine the atmospheric dispersal of passive tracer gases, particularly carbon dioxide, and their transport to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. The tracer model is based on the University of Melbourne General Circulation Model and includes the effect of convective transport. Our results indicate the importance of a realistic treatment of the effect of convection. The model is applied to the dispersion of idealized distributions of tracer to determine atmospheric transport times. We examine particularly the time taken for the “tracer front” to reach the Antarctic coast and the South Pole in the case of cloud..