| Title | Non-annular atmospheric circulation change induced by stratospheric ozone depletion and its role in the recent increase of Antarctic sea ice extent |
| Author | Turner, J.; Comiso, J.C.; Marshall, G.J.; Lachlan-Cope, T.A.; Bracegirdle, T.; Maksym, T.; Meredith, M.P.; Wang, Z.; Orr, A. |
| Author Affil | Turner, J., British Antarctic Survey, National Environment Research Council, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Other: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center |
| Source | Geophysical Research Letters, 36(8), Citation L08502. Publisher: American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, United States. ISSN: 0094-8276 |
| Publication Date | 2009 |
| Notes | In English. 21 refs. GeoRef Acc. No: 301066. CRREL Acc. No: 64005383 |
| Index Terms | atmospheric circulation; ice; microwaves; ozone; remote sensing; Antarctica- -Amundsen Sea; Southern Ocean--Bellingshausen Sea; Southern Ocean--Ross Sea; Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Bellingshausen Sea; geophysical methods; microwave methods; Ross Sea; satellite methods; sea ice; Southern Ocean |
| Abstract | Based on a new analysis of passive microwave satellite data, we demonstrate that the annual mean extent of Antarctic sea ice has increased at a statistically significant rate of 0.97% dec-1 since the late 1970s. The largest increase has been in autumn when there has been a dipole of significant positive and negative trends in the Ross and Amundsen-Bellingshausen Seas respectively. The autumn increase in the Ross Sea sector is primarily a result of stronger cyclonic atmospheric flow over the Amundsen Sea. Model experiments suggest that the trend towards stronger cyclonic circulation is mainly a result of stratospheric ozone depletion, which has strengthened autumn wind speeds around the continent, deepening the Amundsen Sea Low through flow separation around the high coastal orography. However, statistics derived from a climate model control run suggest that the observed sea ice increase might still be within the range of natural climate variability. |
| URL | http://hdl.handle.net/10.1029/2009GL037524 |
| Publication Type | journal article |
| Record ID | 88829 |