On the Seasonal and Spatial Dependence of Extreme Warm Days in Antarctica. Issue 8 (23rd April 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xu, Min; Yang, Qinghua; Clem, Kyle R.; Yu, Lejiang; Hu, Xiaoming
• Is Part Of: Geophysical research letters. Volume 50:Issue 8(2023)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2023-04-23
• Subjects: Antarctic temperature -- warm extremes; Geophysics -- Periodicals; Planets -- Periodicals; Lunar geology -- Periodicals; 550
• DOI: 10.1029/2022GL102472
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0094-8276

Abstract

Abstract: The spatial distribution of trends in temperature extremes over Antarctica remains largely unknown. Here we investigate the seasonal and spatial characteristics of extreme warm occurrence across Antarctica. The Antarctic inland areas show significant positive trends in the number of extreme warm days in austral spring and summer. The trends in the seasonal mean of daily maximum temperature show strong coherence with the trends in extreme warm occurrences. In addition, the long‐term longwave radiation, water vapor flux and regional atmospheric circulation changes are closely connected to the trends of extreme warm days in all seasons outside of summer; the summer longwave radiation and interior wind trends show little coherence with warm extreme trends, indicating other processes at play driving extreme warm days in summer. Plain Language Summary: Antarctica interacting with the global ocean and atmosphere is a key area in studying climate change. The extreme high temperatures in Antarctica have profound impacts on surface melt and local ecosystems. We find that the trends of extreme warm days in the Antarctic continent vary by region and season, showing significant positive trends over the inland areas in austral spring and summer. The background warming of daily maximum temperature is closely connected to the extreme warm occurrences. The trends of surface downward longwave radiation, integrated water vapor flux and the 10 m wind are to a large extent associated with the trend of extreme warm days, especially in spring. Key Points: The extreme warm days in Antarctic inland areas increase significantly in austral spring and summer The long‐term trends in extreme warm days show strong coherence with the trends in averaged daily maximum temperature The temperature trends are closely connected to changes in the surface longwave radiation in all seasons except summer