Extreme warming of the South Pole

Date:
June 30, 2020
Source:
Ohio University
Summary:
The South Pole has been warming at more than three times the global
average over the past 30 years, according to recent research.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== [Illustration of Earth | Credit: (c) conceptcafe / stock.adobe.com] Illustration of Earth centered on Antarctica (stock image).

Credit: (c) conceptcafe / stock.adobe.com [Illustration of Earth | Credit:
(c) conceptcafe / stock.adobe.com] Illustration of Earth centered on
Antarctica (stock image).

Credit: (c) conceptcafe / stock.adobe.com Close The South Pole has been
warming at more than three times the global average over the past 30
years, according to research led by Ohio University professor Ryan Fogt
and OHIO alumnus Kyle Clem.


========================================================================== Fogt, professor of meteorology and director of the Scalia Laboratory for Atmospheric Analysis, and Clem coauthored a paper with an international
team of scientists published in the journal Nature Climate Change on
the findings.

According to the study, this warming period was mainly driven by natural tropical climate variability and was likely intensified by increases in greenhouse gas.

Clem, a current postdoctoral research fellow in climate science at
Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, is the lead author of
the study and studied under Fogt for both his bachelor's and master's
degrees at Ohio University.

"I've had a passion for understanding the weather and fascination of
its power and unpredictability as far back as I can remember," Clem
said. "Working with Ryan I learned all about Antarctic and Southern
Hemisphere climate, specifically how West Antarctica was warming and its
ice sheet was thinning and contributing to global sea level rise. I also learned that Antarctica experiences some of the most extreme weather and variability on the planet, and due to its remote location we actually
know very little about the continent, so there are constant surprises
and new things to learn about Antarctica every year." The Antarctic
climate exhibits some of the largest ranges in temperature during the
course of the year, and some of the largest temperature trends on the
planet, with strong regional contrasts. Most of West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula experienced warming and ice-sheet thinning during the
late 20th century. By contrast, the South Pole -- located in the remote
and high- altitude continental interior -- cooled until the 1980s and
has since warmed substantially. These trends are affected by natural
and anthropogenic climate change, but the individual contribution of
each factor is not well understood.

Clem and his team analyzed weather station data at the South Pole, as well
as climate models to examine the warming in the Antarctic interior. They
found that between 1989 and 2018, the South Pole had warmed by about
1.8 degrees Celsius over the past 30 years at a rate of +0.6 degrees
Celcius per decade - - three times the global average.

The study also found that the strong warming over the Antarctic interior
in the last 30 years was mainly driven by the tropics, especially warm
ocean temperatures in the western tropical Pacific Ocean that changed the
winds in the South Atlantic near Antarctica and increased the delivery
of warm air to the South Pole. They suggest these atmospheric changes
along Antarctica's coast are an important mechanism driving climate
anomalies in its interior.

Clem and Fogt argue that these warming trends were unlikely the result
of natural climate change alone, emphasizing the effects of added
anthropogenic warming on top of the large tropical climate signal on
Antarctic climate have worked in tandem to make this one of the strongest warming trends worldwide.

"From the very beginning, Kyle and I worked very well together and
were able to accomplish more as a team than we were individually,"
Fogt said. "We have published every year together since 2013, with one
of our continuing collaborations being the annual State of the Climate
reports. Our work on this project together each year ultimately led to
this publication documenting the warming at the South Pole, however,
most importantly for me, apart from being a fantastic scientist and collaborator, my family and I are both honored to consider Kyle one of
our closest friends."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Ohio_University. Note: Content may
be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Kyle R. Clem, Ryan L. Fogt, John Turner, Benjamin R. Lintner,
Gareth J.

Marshall, James R. Miller, James A. Renwick. Record warming at the
South Pole during the past three decades. Nature Climate Change,
2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41558-020-0815-z ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200630111324.htm

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