Abstract
We verified high-top clouds from satellite imaging that contributed to
snow accumulation at Syowa Station, Antarctica, during a blizzard event
in 2009. Snow stake data shows that the accumulation recorded in 2009
and 2011 increased during 1993–2012 through the traverse route in East
Antarctica. Focusing on 2009 events, the high-top cloud structure in the
stitched satellite image was often linked to the atmospheric river (AR)
and the values for the high-top cloud area. We found seven new AR events
for 2009 with high accumulations and high-top cloud (HTC) areas. After
comparing the HTC area to precipitable water and integrated water vapor
transport, we determined that the selected cloud images can be used as a
parameter for snowfall. This paper introduces a new fusion method for
identifying AR using image analysis and in-situ glacial and
meteorological data. These HTC clouds are beneficial for predicting the
accumulation in the future.