Recent climate variability in the vicinity of the antarctic peninsula

1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. King
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
The Antarctic

scholarly journals Climate since AD 1510 on Dyer Plateau, Antarctic Peninsula: evidence for recent climate change

1994 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 420-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. G. Thompson ◽  
D. A. Peel ◽  
E. Mosley-thompson ◽  
R. Mulvaney ◽  
J. Dal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Warming Trend ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Annual Variations ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Antarctic

A 480 year record of the oxygen-isotope ratios, dust content, chemical species and net accumulation from ice cores drilled in 1989 90 on Dyer Plateau in the Antarctic Peninsula is presented. The continuous analyses of small (sub-annual) samples reveal well-preserved annual variations in both sulfate content and δ18O, thus allowing an excellent time-scale to be established.This history reveals a recent pronounced warming in which the last two decades have been among the warmest in the last five centuries. Furthermore, unlike in East Antarctica, on Dyer Plateau conditions appear to have been fairly normal from AD 1500 to 1850 with cooler conditions from 1850 to 1930 and a warming trend dominating since 1930. Reconstructed annual layer thicknesses suggest an increase in net accumulation beginning early in the 19th century and continuing to the present. This intuitive conflict between increasing net accumulation and depleted δ18O (cooler climate) in the 19th century appears widespread in the peninsula region and challenges our understanding of the physical relationships among moisture sources, air temperatures and snow accumulation. The complex meteorological regime in the Antarctic Peninsula region complicates meaningful interpretation of proxy indicators and results in a strong imprint of local high-frequency processes upon the larger-scale climate picture.

scholarly journals Climate since AD 1510 on Dyer Plateau, Antarctic Peninsula: evidence for recent climate change

1994 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 420-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. G. Thompson ◽  
D. A. Peel ◽  
E. Mosley-thompson ◽  
R. Mulvaney ◽  
J. Dal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Warming Trend ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Annual Variations ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Antarctic

A 480 year record of the oxygen-isotope ratios, dust content, chemical species and net accumulation from ice cores drilled in 1989 90 on Dyer Plateau in the Antarctic Peninsula is presented. The continuous analyses of small (sub-annual) samples reveal well-preserved annual variations in both sulfate content and δ18O, thus allowing an excellent time-scale to be established.This history reveals a recent pronounced warming in which the last two decades have been among the warmest in the last five centuries. Furthermore, unlike in East Antarctica, on Dyer Plateau conditions appear to have been fairly normal from AD 1500 to 1850 with cooler conditions from 1850 to 1930 and a warming trend dominating since 1930. Reconstructed annual layer thicknesses suggest an increase in net accumulation beginning early in the 19th century and continuing to the present. This intuitive conflict between increasing net accumulation and depleted δ18O (cooler climate) in the 19th century appears widespread in the peninsula region and challenges our understanding of the physical relationships among moisture sources, air temperatures and snow accumulation. The complex meteorological regime in the Antarctic Peninsula region complicates meaningful interpretation of proxy indicators and results in a strong imprint of local high-frequency processes upon the larger-scale climate picture.

scholarly journals Monitoring climate variability on the Antarctic Peninsula by means of observations of the snow cover

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 623-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Digital Terrain Model ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Distributed Information ◽  
Remote Sensing Technique ◽  
Repetition Interval ◽  
The Antarctic

The glaciers of the Antarctic Peninsula are believed to react rapidly to climatic fluctuations. Thus it is of great interest to find methods for monitoring regional climate variability in this region, Two small glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula were chosen to monitor the accumulation and ablation pattern of the snow cover in respect to climate variations. During two summer seasons, synthetic aperture radar pulse-repetition interval images from the European ERS-1 active microwave satellite instrument were collected. Simultaneously, micro-meteorological measurements with simple automatic weather stations were carried out at three locations on the glaciers. Energy available for snowmelt was computed using the bulk transfer equations. Incorporating a digital terrain model and a model for shortwave irradiance, estimates of the energy available for melt were then calculated for the entire glaciers. The resulting time series of spatially distributed information on available energy can be used to separate periods and areas with snow-melt from periods and areas with completely frozen snow cover. The same separation can be achieved from the ERS-1 imagery. Integrating both the remote-sensing technique and the ground observations, it may be possible to establish a combined method to monitor the effects of weather patterns on a seasonal basis.

scholarly journals Evidence of recent climatic warming on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 628-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Skvarca ◽  
Wolfgang Rack ◽  
Helmut Rott ◽  
Teresa Ibarzábal Y Donángelo
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Warming Trend ◽  
Western Coast ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Orkney Islands ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
Summer Temperatures ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Larsen Ice Shelf

Air temperatures at the Marambio (MAR), Esperanza (ESP) and Matienzo (MAT) stations have been analyzed to investigate recent climate change on the eastern part of the Antarctic Peninsula. They are compared with data from the Oreadas station on the South Orkney Islands, the longest record available in Antarctica, and from the Faraday (FAR) station on the western coast of the Peninsula. Though the interannual variability is comparatively high and the stations are located in different climatic regimes, a pronounced warming trend shows up in all records. At MAR a temperature increase of 1.5°C has been observed since the beginning of the record in 1971. This is of similar magnitude to the increase at FAR on the west coast, which was 2.5°C for the longer period since 1945. The steady retreat and collapse of the northern Larsen Ice Shelf (LIS) coincided with this warming trend. of particular importance for the ice-shelf mass balance in this region are the summer temperatures which show a statistically significant warming trend at MAR and ESP. The representativity of the summer temperatures of MAR for northern LIS is confirmed by intercomparison with the parallel measurements at MAT which is located on the ice shelf.

scholarly journals Interannual Climate Variability in the West Antarctic Peninsula under Austral Summer Conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1122
Author(s):  
Eduardo Santamaría-del-Ángel ◽  
Mary-Luz Cañon-Páez ◽  
Maria-Teresa Sebastiá-Frasquet ◽  
Adriana González-Silveira ◽  
Angelica-L. Gutierrez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
The West ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
Northern Zone ◽  
Interannual Climate Variability ◽  
West Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
The Antarctic

This study aimed to describe the interannual climate variability in the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) under austral summer conditions. Time series of January sea-surface temperature (SST) at 1 km spatial resolution from satellite-based multi-sensor data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) Terra, MODIS Aqua, and Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) were compiled between 2001 and 2020 at localities near the Gerlache Strait and the Carlini, Palmer, and Rothera research stations. The results revealed a well-marked spatial-temporal variability in SST at the WAP, with a one-year warm episode followed by a five-year cold episode. Warm waters (SST > 0 °C) reach the coast during warm episodes but remain far from the shore during cold episodes. This behavior of warm waters may be related to the regional variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, particularly when the South Polar Front (carrying warm waters) reaches the WAP coast. The WAP can be divided into two zones representing two distinct ecoregions: the northern zone (including the Carlini and Gerlache stations) corresponds to the South Shetland Islands ecoregion, and the southern zone (including the Palmer and Rothera stations) corresponds to the Antarctic Peninsula ecoregion. The Gerlache Strait is likely situated on the border between the two ecoregions but under a greater influence of the northern zone. Our data showed that the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is the primary driver of SST variability, while the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) plays a secondary role. However, further studies are needed to better understand regional climate variability in the WAP and its relation with SAM and ENSO; such studies should use an index that adequately describes the ENSO in these latitudes and addresses the limitations of the databases used for this purpose. Multi-sensor data are useful in describing the complex climate variability resulting from the combination of local and regional processes that elicit different responses across the WAP. It is also essential to continue improving SST approximations at high latitudes.

scholarly journals On the Role of Tropospheric Circulation in Recent Climate Changes in the Antarctic Peninsula Region

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladislav E. Tymofeyev
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Recent Decade ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Regional Warming ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
Tropospheric Circulation ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract The state of tropospheric circulation in the West Antarctic sector (WAS) is considered during 1990s, the warmest decade in the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) region. Regional warming has progressed almost coherently with the second phase of global warming and is related to oceanic variability, specifically PDO-ENSO conditions. Atmospheric circulation in 1990s comprises a prevailing cyclogenesis west of the Antarctic Peninsula sector along with frequent weather modifications (the winter season in particular is examined) and the ridge of high pressure to the east. Predominant atmospheric circulation types for the recent decade are found to be stable in time causing smaller air temperature oscillations on different time scales. The circulation background responsible for the stabilization of air temperature growth in the AP region immediately after the turn of the millennium is shown.

scholarly journals Divergent trophic responses of sympatric penguin species to historic anthropogenic exploitation and recent climate change

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (51) ◽  
pp. 25721-25727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelton W. McMahon ◽  
Chantel I. Michelson ◽  
Tom Hart ◽  
Matthew D. McCarthy ◽  
William P. Patterson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
The Past ◽  
Recent Climate Change ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
Trophic Responses ◽  
The Antarctic

The Southern Ocean is in an era of significant change. Historic overharvesting of marine mammals and recent climatic warming have cascading impacts on resource availability and, in turn, ecosystem structure and function. We examined trophic responses of sympatric chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarctica) and gentoo (Pygoscelis papua) penguins to nearly 100 y of shared environmental change in the Antarctic Peninsula region using compound-specific stable isotope analyses of museum specimens. A century ago, gentoo penguins fed almost exclusively on low-trophic level prey, such as krill, during the peak of historic overexploitation of marine mammals, which was hypothesized to have resulted in a krill surplus. In the last 40 y, gentoo penguin trophic position has increased a full level as krill declined in response to recent climate change, increased competition from recovering marine mammal populations, and the development of a commercial krill fishery. A shifting isotopic baseline supporting gentoo penguins suggests a concurrent increase in coastal productivity over this time. In contrast, chinstrap penguins exhibited no change in trophic position, despite variation in krill availability over the past century. The specialized foraging niche of chinstrap penguins likely renders them more sensitive to changes in krill availability, relative to gentoo penguins, as evinced by their declining population trends in the Antarctic Peninsula over the past 40 y. Over the next century, similarly divergent trophic and population responses are likely to occur among Antarctic krill predators if climate change and other anthropogenic impacts continue to favor generalist over specialist species.

scholarly journals A New Method for Identifying the Pacific–South American Pattern and Its Influence on Regional Climate Variability

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (17) ◽  
pp. 6109-6125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damien Irving ◽  
Ian Simmonds
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Global Coordinate System ◽  
Identification Algorithm ◽  
South American ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Southwest Atlantic ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract The Pacific–South American (PSA) pattern is an important mode of climate variability in the mid-to-high southern latitudes. It is widely recognized as the primary mechanism by which El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences the southeast Pacific and southwest Atlantic and in recent years has also been suggested as a mechanism by which longer-term tropical sea surface temperature trends can influence the Antarctic climate. This study presents a novel methodology for objectively identifying the PSA pattern. By rotating the global coordinate system such that the equator (a great circle) traces the approximate path of the pattern, the identification algorithm utilizes Fourier analysis as opposed to a traditional empirical orthogonal function approach. The climatology arising from the application of this method to ERA-Interim reanalysis data reveals that the PSA pattern has a strong influence on temperature and precipitation variability over West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula and on sea ice variability in the adjacent Amundsen, Bellingshausen, and Weddell Seas. Identified seasonal trends toward the negative phase of the PSA pattern are consistent with warming observed over the Antarctic Peninsula during autumn, but are inconsistent with observed winter warming over West Antarctica. Only a weak relationship is identified between the PSA pattern and ENSO, which suggests that the pattern might be better conceptualized as a preferred regional atmospheric response to various external (and internal) forcings.

scholarly journals Open ocean and coastal new particle formation from sulfuric acid and amines around the Antarctic Peninsula

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Brean ◽  
Manuel Dall’Osto ◽  
Rafel Simó ◽  
Zongbo Shi ◽  
David C. S. Beddows ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sulfuric Acid ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Particle Formation ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
New Particle Formation ◽  
The Antarctic
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