Time-scale independent patterns of Antarctic temperature change
Abstract
The Antarctic is an important region for the Earth's energy balance and climate. Here, we investigate the spatial patterns of Antarctic temperature change across a range of timescales. We use multiple ice-core water isotope records and an improved method for inverting water-isotope ratios to moisture-source and precipitation-site temperatures. We find that between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene, East Antarctic warming was less than previously thought, and less than concurrent warming in West Antarctica; the latter point is confirmed by independent temperature estimates. More broadly, we identify a pattern of temperature variability in which lower, warmer sites (such as in West Antarctica) show more temperature change than higher, colder sites (such as in East Antarctica). This spatial pattern of change is robust across across timescales, including glacial-interglacial, AIM events and millennial variability, is consistent with observed changes in the last century, and holds for both warming and cooling. Because this pattern persists across climate changes driven by diverse forcing over a range of timescales, it may reflect a fundamental aspect of Earth's energy balance. We investigate potential sources for this pattern with a simple energy balance model and idealized General Circulation Model experiments.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.C52A..06M
- Keywords:
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- 3337 Global climate models;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSESDE: 0724 Ice cores;
- CRYOSPHEREDE: 1621 Cryospheric change;
- GLOBAL CHANGEDE: 4901 Abrupt/rapid climate change;
- PALEOCEANOGRAPHY