The Antarctic Peninsula under a 1.5°C global warming scenario ...

• Main Authors: Siegert, M, Atkinson, A, Banwell, A, Brandon, M, Convey, P, Davies, B, Downie, R, Edwards, T, Hubbard, B, Marshall, G, Rogelj, J, Rumble, J, Stroeve, J, Vaughan, D
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media SA 2019
• Subjects: polar change; glaciers and climate; sea ice; marine biology; terrestrial biology; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Ice Shelves; Iceberg*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.41810; https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/294705

Warming of the Antarctic Peninsula in the latter half of the twentieth century was greater than any other terrestrial environment in the Southern Hemisphere, and clear cryospheric and biological consequences have been observed. Under a global 1.5◦C scenario, warming in the Antarctic Peninsula is likely to increase the number of days above 0◦C, with up to 130 of such days each year in the northern Peninsula. Ocean turbulence will increase, making the circumpolar deep water (CDW) both warmer and shallower, delivering heat to the sea surface and to coastal margins. Thinning and recession of marine margins of glaciers and ice caps is expected to accelerate to terrestrial limits, increasing iceberg production, after which glacier retreat may slow on land. Ice shelves will experience continued increase in meltwater production and consequent structural change, but not imminent regional collapses. Marine biota can respond in multiple ways to climatic changes, with effects complicated by past resource extraction ...