Anomalous mid-twentieth century atmospheric circulation change over the South Atlantic compared to the last 6000 years
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15550238 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chris Turney (0000-0001-6733-0993, UNSW Sydney, corresponding author), Chris S M Turney, Richard T Jones (0000-0002-3137-4051, University of Exeter), David Lister (0000-0002-6322-842X, University of East Anglia), Phil Jones (0000-0001-5173-3245), P D Jones (0000-0001-5032-5493, University of East Anglia), Andreá N Williams (0000-0003-4133-4229, UNSW Sydney), Alan N Williams, Angela Hogg (0000-0002-4001-9027, University of Waikato), Alan Hogg, Zoë A Thomas, Zoë Thomas (0000-0002-2323-4366, UNSW Sydney), Gilbert P Compo (0000-0001-5199-9633, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory), Xungang Yin, Christopher J Fogwill (0000-0002-6471-1106, UNSW Sydney), Jonathan Palmer (0000-0002-6665-4483, UNSW Sydney), Steve Colwell (British Antarctic Survey), Rob Allan (0000-0003-4065-6883, Met Office), Martin Visbeck (0000-0002-0844-834X, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 064009-064009 |
| Publication date | 2016-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064009 |
| OpenAlex | W2409390221 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 92 |
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 14C and 137Cs) 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. Our results imply 'modern' South Atlantic atmospheric circulation has not been under this configuration for millennia
Abrupt climate change · Archaeology · Atmospheric Circulation · Climate change · Climatology · Effects of global warming · Geography · Global warming · Meteorology · Ocean current · Peninsula · Precipitation · Sea surface temperature · Climate variability and models · Cryospheric studies and observations · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Geology · Oceanography
The ERA‐Interim reanalysis
Trends in the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide
Global characterization of the Holocene Thermal Maximum
Coherent High- and Low-Latitude Climate Variability During the Holocene Warm Period
Southward Migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone Through the Holocene
Continental-scale temperature variability during the past two millennia
The Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project
Global analyses of sea surface temperature, sea ice, and night marine air temperature since the late nineteenth century
Mid- to Late Holocene climate change
The timing of anthropogenic emergence in simulated climate extremes
Subantarctic peatlands and their potential as palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic archives
Interpreting stable-isotope records from freshwater snail-shell carbonate
Carbon sequestration in western Canadian peat highly sensitive to Holocene wet-dry climate cycles at millennial timescales
Changes in Holocene climate and the intensity of Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds based on a high-resolution palynological record from sub-Antarctic South Georgia
Rank Correlation Methods
SHCal13 Southern Hemisphere Calibration, 0–50,000 Years cal BP
Recent and Planned Developments of the Program OxCal
Radiocarbon Dating
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,29 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2022 (4) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |