Analyzing Precipitation Changes in the Northern Tip of the Antarctic Peninsula during the 1970–2019 Period
Open Access
- 24 November 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in Atmosphere
- Vol. 11 (12), 1270
- https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11121270
Abstract
Five decades of precipitation data are available from the Chilean Antarctic weather stations located in the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Data include daily accumulation and type of precipitation registered at the time of the observation at the Meteorological Antarctic Center located at Base Eduardo Frei Montalva, King George Island. This information allowed us to analyze not only the precipitation accumulation changes (always questionable in cold and windy regions) but also changes in precipitation days and precipitation phases (rain versus snow). The expo nential filter was applied to the monthly data to obtain decadal-like changes. The analysis revealed an overall increase in precipitation from 1970 to the early-1990s 60 ± 7 mm (10 year)−1 (p < 0.05) and 31 ± 4 mm (10 year)−1 (p < 0.05) and a negative trend between 1991 and 1999 with decreasing precipitation of −95 ± 9 mm (10 year)−1 (p < 0.05). On the other hand, while an increase in precipitation events also took place from 1970 to the early-1990s, there was a decreasing trend in precipitation events during the 2010s. This implies that the positive trend in precipitation accumulation registered during this period is due to the increasing extreme precipitation events. The precipitation type analysis shows an increase (decrease) in snow (rain) events from around the mid-1990s to mid-2010s during the summer season. These opposite trends were related to the summer cooling affecting the AP region.This publication has 30 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Influence of the Amundsen–Bellingshausen Seas Low on the Climate of West Antarctica and Its Representation in Coupled Climate Model SimulationsJournal of Climate, 2013
- A new, high‐resolution surface mass balance map of Antarctica (1979–2010) based on regional atmospheric climate modelingGeophysical Research Letters, 2012
- An analysis of precipitation data from the Antarctic base Faraday/VernadskyInternational Journal of Climatology, 2011
- On the annual and semi‐annual cycles of precipitation across AntarcticaInternational Journal of Climatology, 2009
- ADVANCES IN DESCRIBING RECENT ANTARCTIC CLIMATE VARIABILITYBulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2008
- Insignificant Change in Antarctic Snowfall Since the International Geophysical YearScience, 2006
- A positive trend in western Antarctic Peninsula precipitation over the last 50 years reflecting regional and Antarctic-wide atmospheric circulation changesAnnals of Glaciology, 2005
- Changes in Antarctic temperature, wind and precipitation in response to the Antarctic OscillationAnnals of Glaciology, 2004
- Statistical significance of trends and trend differences in layer‐average atmospheric temperature time seriesJournal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 2000
- The synoptic origins of precipitation over the Antarctic PeninsulaAntarctic Science, 1995