Atmospheric blocking in the Australasian region in the Southern Hemisphere winter ...

• Main Author: Pook, MJ
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; East Antarctica; Indian; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23242916; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Atmospheric_blocking_in_the_Australasian_region_in_the_Southern_Hemisphere_winter/23242916

Previous studies of blocking in the Australasian region have sought to establish a link between the occurrence of blocking and the observed gradient of sea surface temperature (SST) from the cold waters of the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean to the relatively warm surface waters to the southeast of Australia. This study investigates the distribution, gradients and seasonal cycles of SST over the Southern Ocean and concludes that the contribution of the west-east gradient in forcing the atmosphere is about an order of magnitude less than the effect of SST gradients in the meridional plane. Furthermore the meridional gradient is magnified during winter because of the interaction of several major influences in the Australian region. These include the significant cooling of the continents of Australia and Antarctica and the configuration of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). Where the ACC travels closer to the coast of East Antarctica surface temperature gradients are reinforced aloft by strong ...