Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Jan 22;457(7228):459-62.
doi: 10.1038/nature07669.

Warming of the Antarctic ice-sheet surface since the 1957 International Geophysical Year

Eric J Steig  1 , David P Schneider, Scott D Rutherford, Michael E Mann, Josefino C Comiso, Drew T Shindell
Affiliations

Warming of the Antarctic ice-sheet surface since the 1957 International Geophysical Year

Eric J Steig et al. Nature. .

Erratum in

  • Nature. 2009 Aug 6;460(7256):766

Abstract

Assessments of Antarctic temperature change have emphasized the contrast between strong warming of the Antarctic Peninsula and slight cooling of the Antarctic continental interior in recent decades. This pattern of temperature change has been attributed to the increased strength of the circumpolar westerlies, largely in response to changes in stratospheric ozone. This picture, however, is substantially incomplete owing to the sparseness and short duration of the observations. Here we show that significant warming extends well beyond the Antarctic Peninsula to cover most of West Antarctica, an area of warming much larger than previously reported. West Antarctic warming exceeds 0.1 degrees C per decade over the past 50 years, and is strongest in winter and spring. Although this is partly offset by autumn cooling in East Antarctica, the continent-wide average near-surface temperature trend is positive. Simulations using a general circulation model reproduce the essential features of the spatial pattern and the long-term trend, and we suggest that neither can be attributed directly to increases in the strength of the westerlies. Instead, regional changes in atmospheric circulation and associated changes in sea surface temperature and sea ice are required to explain the enhanced warming in West Antarctica.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Aug 26;105(34):12154-8 - PubMed
    1. Science. 2006 Mar 31;311(5769):1914-7 - PubMed
    1. Science. 2002 May 3;296(5569):895-9 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 2002 Jan 31;415(6871):517-20 - PubMed
    1. Science. 2003 Oct 10;302(5643):273-5 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources