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Tropical and mid-latitude forcing of continental Antarctic temperatures
Citation
Turney, CSM and Fogwill, CJ and Klekociuk, AR and van Ommen, TD and Curran, MAJ and Moy, AD and Palmer, JG, Tropical and mid-latitude forcing of continental Antarctic temperatures, The Cryosphere, 9, (6) pp. 2405-2415. ISSN 1994-0416 (2015) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
© Author(s) 2015. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
DOI: doi:10.5194/tc-9-2405-2015
Abstract
Future changes in atmospheric circulation and associated modes of
variability are a major source of uncertainty in climate projections.
Nowhere is this issue more acute than across the mid-latitudes to high latitudes of
the Southern Hemisphere (SH), which over the last few decades have
experienced extreme and regionally variable trends in precipitation, ocean
circulation and temperature, with major implications for Antarctic ice melt
and surface mass balance. Unfortunately there is a relative dearth of
observational data, limiting our understanding of the driving mechanism(s).
Here we report a new 130-year annually resolved record of δD – a
proxy for temperature – from the geographic South Pole where we find a
significant influence from extratropical pressure anomalies which act as
"gatekeepers" to the meridional exchange of air masses. Reanalysis of global
atmospheric circulation suggests these pressure anomalies play a significant
influence on mid- to high-latitude SH climate, modulated by the tropical
Pacific Ocean. This work adds to a growing body of literature confirming the
important roles of tropical and mid-latitude atmospheric circulation
variability on Antarctic temperatures. Our findings suggest that future
increasing tropical warmth will strengthen meridional circulation,
exaggerating current trends, with potentially significant impacts on
Antarctic surface mass balance.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Antarctic temperatures, atmospheric circulation, climate projections |
| Research Division: | Earth Sciences |
| Research Group: | Climate change science |
| Research Field: | Climate change processes |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Policy, Climate Change and Natural Hazards |
| Objective Group: | Understanding climate change |
| Objective Field: | Understanding climate change not elsewhere classified |
| UTAS Author: | Klekociuk, AR (Dr Andrew Klekociuk) |
| UTAS Author: | van Ommen, TD (Dr Tas van Ommen) |
| UTAS Author: | Curran, MAJ (Dr Mark Curran) |
| UTAS Author: | Moy, AD (Dr Andrew Moy) |
| ID Code: | 105387 |
| Year Published: | 2015 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 8 |
| Deposited By: | CRC-Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems |
| Deposited On: | 2015-12-22 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-10-30 |
| Downloads: | 151 View Download Statistics |
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