Contribution of atmospheric rivers to Antarctic precipitation

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are efficient mechanisms for transporting atmospheric moisture from low latitudes to the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS). While AR events occur infrequently, they can lead to extreme precipitation and surface melt events on the AIS. Here we estimate the contribution of ARs to tota...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Other Authors: Maclennan, Michelle L. (author), Lenaerts, Jan T.M. (author), Shields, Christine (author), Wille, Jonathan D. (author)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Antarctic
East Antarctica
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Antarctica
Ice Sheet
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL100585
Description
Summary:Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are efficient mechanisms for transporting atmospheric moisture from low latitudes to the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS). While AR events occur infrequently, they can lead to extreme precipitation and surface melt events on the AIS. Here we estimate the contribution of ARs to total Antarctic precipitation, by combining precipitation from atmospheric reanalyses and a polar-specific AR detection algorithm. We show that ARs contribute substantially to Antarctic precipitation, especially in East Antarctica at elevations below 3,000 m. ARs contribute substantially to year-to-year variability in Antarctic precipitation. Our results highlight that ARs are an important component for understanding present and future Antarctic mass balance trends and variability. 1947282 1952199 1852977 DE-SC0022070

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