REPORT OF A WORKSHOP ON THEORETICAL AND OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES OF POLAR LOWS OF THE EUROPEAN-GEOPHYSICAL-SOCIETY POLAR LOWS WORKING GROUP

A workshop on theoretical and observational studies of polar lows was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, 23-26 September 1996. An international group with scientists and students from Canada, Denmark, Germany, Nor way, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States participated in the workshop. The papers presented covered the fields of climatologic al studies, studies using numerical models, and satellite studies for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Two polar low cases were invest igated in more detail during working groups sessions: The polar low '' Le Cygne'' occurring 13-16 October 1993 over the Norwegian Sea, and a Southern Hemisphere polar low occurring 30 July-1 August 1986 over the Weddell Sea. Programs related to polar low research were presented in order to coordinate the international efforts in investigating polar mesocyclones. The workshop showed the progress achieved by using 1) th e synergetic combination of the satellite data presently available, an d 2) mesoscale numerical models for the understanding of the developme nt and the physical processes of polar mesocyclones.