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Reanalysis products are an invaluable tool for representing variability and long-term trends in regions with limited in situ data, and especially the Antarctic. A comparison of eight different reanalysis products shows large differences in sea level pressure and surface air temperature trends over the high-latitude Southern Ocean, with implications for studies of the atmosphere's role in driving ocean–sea ice changes. In this study, we use the established close coupling between sea ice cover and surface temperature to evaluate these reanalysis trends using the independent, 30-year sea ice record from 1980 to 2010. We demonstrate that sea ice trends are a reliable validation tool for most months of the year, although the sea ice–surface temperature coupling is weakest in summer when the surface energy budget is dominated by atmosphere-to-ocean heat fluxes. Based on our analysis, we find that surface air temperature trends in JRA55 are most consistent with satellite-observed sea ice trends over the polar waters of the Southern Ocean.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Southern Ocean, trends, atmosphere
Research Division:	Earth Sciences
Research Group:	Climate change science
Research Field:	Climatology
Objective Division:	Environmental Policy, Climate Change and Natural Hazards
Objective Group:	Understanding climate change
Objective Field:	Effects of climate change on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic environments (excl. social impacts)
UTAS Author:	Hobbs, WR (Dr Will Hobbs)
UTAS Author:	Klekociuk, AR (Dr Andrew Klekociuk)
ID Code:	141922
Year Published:	2020
Deposited By:	Oceans and Cryosphere
Deposited On:	2020-12-03
Last Modified:	2021-02-22
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