Anomalous mid-twentieth century atmospheric circulation change over the South Atlantic compared to the last 6000 years
Determining the timing and impact of anthropogenic climate change in data-sparse regions is a considerable challenge. Arguably, nowhere is this more difficult than the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic South Atlantic where observational records are relatively short but where high rates of war...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 https://doaj.org/article/7941abeafb19417dbd4d316e2a870ee5 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7941abeafb19417dbd4d316e2a870ee5 2023-09-05T13:11:46+02:00 Anomalous mid-twentieth century atmospheric circulation change over the South Atlantic compared to the last 6000 years Chris S M Turney Richard T Jones David Lister Phil Jones Alan N Williams Alan Hogg Zoë A Thomas Gilbert P Compo Xungang Yin Christopher J Fogwill Jonathan Palmer Steve Colwell Rob Allan Martin Visbeck 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 https://doaj.org/article/7941abeafb19417dbd4d316e2a870ee5 EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/7941abeafb19417dbd4d316e2a870ee5 Environmental Research Letters, Vol 11, Iss 6, p 064009 (2016) southern annular mode (SAM) Southern Hemisphere westerlies subantarctic climate extremes temperature climate reanalysis anthropogenic climate change Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 2023-08-13T00:37:47Z Determining the timing and impact of anthropogenic climate change in data-sparse regions is a considerable challenge. Arguably, nowhere is this more difficult than the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic South Atlantic where observational records are relatively short but where high rates of warming have been experienced since records began. Here we interrogate recently developed monthly-resolved observational datasets from the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, and extend the records back using climate-sensitive peat growth over the past 6000 years. Investigating the subantarctic climate data with ERA-Interim and Twentieth Century Reanalysis, we find that a stepped increase in precipitation across the 1940s is related to a change in synoptic atmospheric circulation: a westward migration of quasi-permanent positive pressure anomalies in the South Atlantic has brought the subantarctic islands under the increased influence of meridional airflow associated with the Amundsen Sea Low. Analysis of three comprehensively multi-dated (using ^14 C and ^137 Cs) peat sequences across the two islands demonstrates unprecedented growth rates since the mid-twentieth century relative to the last 6000 years. Comparison to observational and reconstructed sea surface temperatures suggests this change is linked to a warming tropical Pacific Ocean. Our results imply ‘modern’ South Atlantic atmospheric circulation has not been under this configuration for millennia. Article in Journal/Newspaper Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Amundsen Sea Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Pacific The Antarctic Environmental Research Letters 11 6 064009 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
southern annular mode (SAM) Southern Hemisphere westerlies subantarctic climate extremes temperature climate reanalysis anthropogenic climate change Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
southern annular mode (SAM) Southern Hemisphere westerlies subantarctic climate extremes temperature climate reanalysis anthropogenic climate change Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Chris S M Turney Richard T Jones David Lister Phil Jones Alan N Williams Alan Hogg Zoë A Thomas Gilbert P Compo Xungang Yin Christopher J Fogwill Jonathan Palmer Steve Colwell Rob Allan Martin Visbeck Anomalous mid-twentieth century atmospheric circulation change over the South Atlantic compared to the last 6000 years |
topic_facet |
southern annular mode (SAM) Southern Hemisphere westerlies subantarctic climate extremes temperature climate reanalysis anthropogenic climate change Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
Determining the timing and impact of anthropogenic climate change in data-sparse regions is a considerable challenge. Arguably, nowhere is this more difficult than the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic South Atlantic where observational records are relatively short but where high rates of warming have been experienced since records began. Here we interrogate recently developed monthly-resolved observational datasets from the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, and extend the records back using climate-sensitive peat growth over the past 6000 years. Investigating the subantarctic climate data with ERA-Interim and Twentieth Century Reanalysis, we find that a stepped increase in precipitation across the 1940s is related to a change in synoptic atmospheric circulation: a westward migration of quasi-permanent positive pressure anomalies in the South Atlantic has brought the subantarctic islands under the increased influence of meridional airflow associated with the Amundsen Sea Low. Analysis of three comprehensively multi-dated (using ^14 C and ^137 Cs) peat sequences across the two islands demonstrates unprecedented growth rates since the mid-twentieth century relative to the last 6000 years. Comparison to observational and reconstructed sea surface temperatures suggests this change is linked to a warming tropical Pacific Ocean. Our results imply ‘modern’ South Atlantic atmospheric circulation has not been under this configuration for millennia. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Chris S M Turney Richard T Jones David Lister Phil Jones Alan N Williams Alan Hogg Zoë A Thomas Gilbert P Compo Xungang Yin Christopher J Fogwill Jonathan Palmer Steve Colwell Rob Allan Martin Visbeck |
author_facet |
Chris S M Turney Richard T Jones David Lister Phil Jones Alan N Williams Alan Hogg Zoë A Thomas Gilbert P Compo Xungang Yin Christopher J Fogwill Jonathan Palmer Steve Colwell Rob Allan Martin Visbeck |
author_sort |
Chris S M Turney |
title |
Anomalous mid-twentieth century atmospheric circulation change over the South Atlantic compared to the last 6000 years |
title_short |
Anomalous mid-twentieth century atmospheric circulation change over the South Atlantic compared to the last 6000 years |
title_full |
Anomalous mid-twentieth century atmospheric circulation change over the South Atlantic compared to the last 6000 years |
title_fullStr |
Anomalous mid-twentieth century atmospheric circulation change over the South Atlantic compared to the last 6000 years |
title_full_unstemmed |
Anomalous mid-twentieth century atmospheric circulation change over the South Atlantic compared to the last 6000 years |
title_sort |
anomalous mid-twentieth century atmospheric circulation change over the south atlantic compared to the last 6000 years |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 https://doaj.org/article/7941abeafb19417dbd4d316e2a870ee5 |
geographic |
Amundsen Sea Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Pacific The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Amundsen Sea Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Pacific The Antarctic |
genre |
Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
genre_facet |
Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 11, Iss 6, p 064009 (2016) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/7941abeafb19417dbd4d316e2a870ee5 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
064009 |
_version_ |
1776196989814308864 |