Revisiting temperature sensitivity: how does Antarctic precipitation change with temperature? ...

• Main Authors: Nicola, Lena, Notz, Dirk, Winkelmann, Ricarda
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU 2023
• Subjects: Antarctica; Siple Coast; West Antarctica; climate conditions; CMIP; plateau; precipitation climatology; snow cover; temperature effect; 910; Antarc*; Antarctic; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.34657/13713; https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/14691

With progressing global warming, snowfall in Antarctica is expected to increase, which could counteract or even temporarily overcompensate increased ice-sheet mass losses caused by increased ice discharge and melting. For sea-level projections it is therefore vital to understand the processes determining snowfall changes in Antarctica. Here we revisit the relationship between Antarctic temperature changes and precipitation changes, identifying and explaining regional differences and deviations from the theoretical approach based on the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship. Analysing the latest estimates from global (CMIP6, Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6) and regional (RACMO2.3) model projections, we find an average increase of 5.5 % in annual precipitation over Antarctica per degree of warming, with a minimum sensitivity of 2 % K-1 near Siple Coast and a maximum sensitivity of > 10 % K-1 at the East Antarctic plateau region. This large range can be explained by the prevailing climatic ...