Preliminary results of the glacial winds regime on the Mandrone Glacier

During the summer of 2008, from 13 June to 29 September, at an altitude of 2780 m asl, a micro–meteorological station was placed on the Mandrone Glacier (Adamello Group, Italian Central Alps) by a team of the University of Brescia. The aim of the MandronEX (Mandrone EXperiment) field campaign was the collection of useful data to analyse the glacial winds and estimate the mass balance of the glacier. In this study will the data recorded by the 3 axes Gill WindMaster sonic anemometer at a sampling rate of 20 Hz, during the first nine days of the experiment will be analysed, in order to detect the glacial winds. A general description of the atmospheric pressure, the air temperature and the wind directions was provided in order to understand the meteorological conditions on the glacier and to obtain preliminary information about the winds regime. The more accurate elaborations executed by means of the frequency analysis and the wind–roses have shown an alternate regime of anabatic winds, from the valley to the glacier, especially in the first days of the campaign, and katabatic ones from the glacier to the valley. The spectral analysis of the u and w wind speed components, instead, allowed to detect the presence of the -5/3 slope Kolmogorov law, in the inertial sub–range. Moreover, according to the analysis provided by Kaimal et al. (1972) the atmosphere seems to be stable during the investigated period.