On the annual and semi-annual cycles of precipitation across Antarctica

Marshall, Gareth J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8887-7314. 2009 On the annual and semi-annual cycles of precipitation across Antarctica. International Journal of Climatology, 29 (15). 2298-2308. 10.1002/joc.1810

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Abstract/Summary

In this study, we examine the importance of the annual and semi-annual cycles of precipitation (H-1(P) and H-2(P), respectively) across Antarctica utilizing the ERA-40 re-analysis from 1980 to 2001. A qualitative comparison between monthly precipitation from ERA-40 and precipitation reports from Antarctic bases reveals that the re-analysis successfully captures the seasonal cycle of precipitation at coastal sites. However, likely excessive summer precipitation on the high Antarctic Plateau in ERA-40 means the re-analysis is uncertain in the continental interior. The spatial variability in the amplitude of both H-1(P) and H-2(P) reveals coastal maxima with a clear wavenumber 3 pattern: unsurprisingly, maximum values are located east of climatological low-pressure centres, where moisture advection into the continent is greatest. This pattern is particularly pronounced for H-1(P), for which the amplitude exceeds 25 mm water equivalent (WE) in coastal west Antarctica. In the Antarctic coastal region H-1(P) often explains greater than 50% - and sometimes more than 80% - of the total variance of the seasonal precipitation cycle. In contrast, the northwest Antarctic Peninsula has a higher amplitude in H-1(P) that is linked to its location within the circumpolar trough (CPT). A marked change in the magnitude of H-1(P) between the 1980s and 1990s in parts of coastal west Antarctica and the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula was observed in the ERA-40 data and confirmed by similar changes in the seasonal cycle of precipitation reports. The principal modification to H-1(P) results from a decrease in winter precipitation that can be linked to a weaker and smaller winter Amundsen Sea Low, which in turn is known to be influenced by El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). A simple estimate indicates that the observed change in the seasonal cycle of precipitation Would lead to an apparent warming of similar to 0.6 degrees C in a proxy of mean annual temperature derived from oxygen isotope measurements. Copyright (C) 2009 Royal Meteorological Society

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1002/joc.1810
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Climate
ISSN:	0899-8418
NORA Subject Terms:	Meteorology and Climatology Earth Sciences Atmospheric Sciences
Date made live:	08 Nov 2010 11:44 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11148

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