Antarctic Peninsula Climate Variability and Its Causes as Revealed by Analysis of Instrumental Records

2013 ◽  
pp. 17-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. King ◽  
J. Turner ◽  
G. J. Marshall ◽  
W. M. Connolley ◽  
T. A. Lachlan-Cope
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Instrumental Records

Influence of Climate Variability in King George Island Glacier Retreat – Antarctic Peninsula

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibeth Celia Rojas Macedo ◽  
Wilson Alfredo Suarez Alayza ◽  
Edwin Anibal Loarte Cadenas ◽  
Katy Damacia Medina Marcos
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Enso Event ◽  
Glacier Retreat ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
King George Island ◽  
Cooling Period ◽  
Glacier Shrinkage ◽  
Landsat Satellite

<p>This research aims to explain the influence of climatic variables (temperature and precipitation) in King George Island (KGI) glacier shrinkage on the Antarctic Peninsula. It employed Landsat satellite images from 1989 to 2020, climatic data and ONI index from 1980 to 2019.</p><p>King George Island glaciers have lost 10% of their coverage in the last 31 years. Greater glacier shrinkage was shown until the first mid-period assessed, while the retreat rate slowed down for the second half of the studied period. Furthermore, of 73 KGI glaciers, 37% were marine- and land-terminating, 42% were land-terminating and 21% were sea-terminating. Nonetheless, the decreases in the ice-coverage of marine-contact glaciers (35% of glacier coverage reduced) were higher than land-terminating glaciers (17% of glacier coverage reduced).</p><p>There was a perceivable fluctuation in annual average air temperature for the 1980-2006 period. Nevertheless, from around 2007 to 2015/2016 there was a slight continuous cooling period and precipitation was somewhat above the average. Therefore, these patterns could explain the recent KGI glacier-retreat deceleration.</p><p>Unlike the 1982/1983 and 1997/1998 El Niño events, the 2015/2016 El Niño was colder with precipitation reduction from the sustained annual amount (since roughly 2007 to 2015/2016) to values below the average. Moreover, during the 2015/2016 El Niño, KGI glacier coverage reduction was the lowest for the 31 year-long evaluated. However, it was revealed that the glacier's height could increase by accumulation in El Niño years, but glacier mass balance could be more negative due to basal melting. Additionally, land-terminating glaciers have lost more glacier coverage than sea-terminating glaciers throughout this ENSO event.</p><p>Hence, climate variability might play a significant role in KGI glacier shrinkage, but calving process, glacier features and so on, further a combination of them should be assessed to reach a better understanding of KGI glacier retreat.</p>

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 Highly branched isoprenoids for Southern Ocean sea ice reconstructions: a pilot study from the Western Antarctic Peninsula

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (15) ◽  
pp. 2961-2981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria-Elena Vorrath ◽  
Juliane Müller ◽  
Oliver Esper ◽  
Gesine Mollenhauer ◽  
Christian Haas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Drake Passage ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Western Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Instrumental Records

Abstract. Organic geochemical and micropaleontological analyses of surface sediments collected in the southern Drake Passage and the Bransfield Strait, Western Antarctic Peninsula, enable a proxy-based reconstruction of recent sea ice conditions in this climate-sensitive area. We study the distribution of the sea ice biomarker IPSO25, and biomarkers of open marine environments such as more unsaturated highly branched isoprenoid alkenes and phytosterols. Comparison of the sedimentary distribution of these biomarker lipids with sea ice data obtained from satellite observations and diatom-based sea ice estimates provide for an evaluation of the suitability of these biomarkers to reflect recent sea surface conditions. The distribution of IPSO25 supports earlier suggestions that the source diatom seems to be common in near-coastal environments characterized by annually recurring sea ice cover, while the distribution of the other biomarkers is highly variable. Offsets between sea ice estimates deduced from the abundance of biomarkers and satellite-based sea ice data are attributed to the different time intervals recorded within the sediments and the instrumental records from the study area, which experienced rapid environmental changes during the past 100 years. To distinguish areas characterized by permanently ice-free conditions, seasonal sea ice cover and extended sea ice cover, we apply the concept of the PIP25 index from the Arctic Ocean to our data and introduce the term PIPSO25 as a potential sea ice proxy. While the trends in PIPSO25 are generally consistent with satellite sea ice data and winter sea ice concentrations in the study area estimated by diatom transfer functions, more studies on the environmental significance of IPSO25 as a Southern Ocean sea ice proxy are needed before this biomarker can be applied for semi-quantitative sea ice reconstructions.

scholarly journals Environmental responses of the Northeast Antarctic Peninsula to the Holocene climate variability

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loïc Barbara ◽  
Xavier Crosta ◽  
Amy Leventer ◽  
Sabine Schmidt ◽  
Johan Etourneau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Holocene Climate ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Environmental Responses

scholarly journals Highly branched isoprenoids for Southern Ocean semi-quantitative sea ice reconstructions: a pilot study from the Western Antarctic Peninsula

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria-Elena Vorrath ◽  
Juliane Müller ◽  
Oliver Esper ◽  
Gesine Mollenhauer ◽  
Christian Haas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Drake Passage ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Instrumental Records ◽  
Diatom Transfer Functions

Abstract. Organic geochemical and micropaleontological analyses of surface sediments collected in the southern Drake Passage and the Bransfield Strait, Antarctic Peninsula, enable a proxy-based reconstruction of recent sea ice conditions in this climate sensitive area. The distribution of the sea ice biomarker IPSO25 supports earlier suggestions that the source diatoms seem to be common in near-coastal environments characterized by an annually recurring sea ice cover. We here propose and evaluate the combination of IPSO25 with a more unsaturated highly branched isoprenoid alkene and phytosterols and introduce the PIPSO25 index as a potentially semi-quantitative sea ice proxy. This organic geochemical approach is complemented with diatom data. PIPSO25 sea ice estimates are used to discriminate between areas characterized by permanently ice-free conditions, seasonal sea ice cover and extended sea ice cover. These trends are consistent with satellite sea ice data and winter sea ice concentrations estimated by diatom transfer functions. Minor offsets between proxy-based and satellite-based sea ice data are attributed to the different time intervals recorded within the sediments and the instrumental records from the study area, which experienced rapid environmental changes during the past 100 years.

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.

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