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: | http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1287270 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1287270 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 |
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ftosti:oai:osti.gov:1287270 2023-07-30T03:56:05+02:00 Anomalous mid-twentieth century atmospheric circulation change over the South Atlantic compared to the last 6000 years Turney, Chris S. M. Jones, Richard T. Lister, David Jones, Phil Williams, Alan N. Hogg, Alan Thomas, Zoe A. Compo, Gilbert P. Yin, Xungang Fogwill, Christopher J. Palmer, Jonathan Colwell, Steve Allan, Rob Visbeck, Martin 2023-06-26 application/pdf http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1287270 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1287270 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 unknown http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1287270 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1287270 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 2023 ftosti https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 2023-07-11T09:10:29Z 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. Lastly, our results imply 'modern' South Atlantic atmospheric circulation has not been under this configuration for millennia. Other/Unknown Material Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) Antarctic The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Amundsen Sea Pacific Environmental Research Letters 11 6 064009 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) |
op_collection_id |
ftosti |
language |
unknown |
topic |
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES |
spellingShingle |
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Turney, Chris S. M. Jones, Richard T. Lister, David Jones, Phil Williams, Alan N. Hogg, Alan Thomas, Zoe A. Compo, Gilbert P. Yin, Xungang Fogwill, Christopher J. Palmer, Jonathan Colwell, Steve Allan, Rob Visbeck, Martin Anomalous mid-twentieth century atmospheric circulation change over the South Atlantic compared to the last 6000 years |
topic_facet |
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES |
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. Lastly, our results imply 'modern' South Atlantic atmospheric circulation has not been under this configuration for millennia. |
author |
Turney, Chris S. M. Jones, Richard T. Lister, David Jones, Phil Williams, Alan N. Hogg, Alan Thomas, Zoe A. Compo, Gilbert P. Yin, Xungang Fogwill, Christopher J. Palmer, Jonathan Colwell, Steve Allan, Rob Visbeck, Martin |
author_facet |
Turney, Chris S. M. Jones, Richard T. Lister, David Jones, Phil Williams, Alan N. Hogg, Alan Thomas, Zoe A. Compo, Gilbert P. Yin, Xungang Fogwill, Christopher J. Palmer, Jonathan Colwell, Steve Allan, Rob Visbeck, Martin |
author_sort |
Turney, Chris S. M. |
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 |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1287270 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1287270 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Amundsen Sea Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Amundsen Sea Pacific |
genre |
Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
genre_facet |
Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
op_relation |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1287270 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1287270 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 |
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_ |
1772810848663764992 |