Twentieth-century surface temperature trends in the western Ross Sea, Antarctica: Evidence from a high-resolution ice core

• Published in: Journal of Climate
• Main Authors: Sinclair, KE, Bertler, NAN, van Ommen, TD
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Amer Meteorological Soc 2012
• Subjects: Earth Sciences; Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience; Glaciology; Ross Sea; Ross Island; Scott Base; Whitehall Glacier; Antarc*; Antarctica; ice core; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00496.1; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/80555

A 125-yr ice core record of climate from the Whitehall Glacier ice divide provides exceptionally high-resolution stable isotope data from the northwest margin of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. This is the only proxy data available to extend the instrumental record of temperature in this region, where little is known about climate variability over the past two centuries. Using ECMWF Interim Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) data, this study develops a precipitation-weighted δ 18 O-temperature transfer function of 0.62 C −1 , which is comparable to other proximal ice cores, such as Taylor, Talos, and Law Domes. Reconstructed mean annual temperatures show no significant change between 1882 and 2006. However, a decrease in cold season [AprilSeptember (AMJJAS)] temperatures of −1.59 0.84C decade −1 (at 90% confidence) is observed since 1979. This cooling trend is in contrast to a surface temperature record from Ross Island (Scott Base) where significant spring warming is observed. It is also coincident with a positive trend in the southern annular mode, which is linked to stronger southerly winds and increased sea ice extent and duration in the western Ross Sea.