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Ocean-driven warming along western Antarctic Peninsula may be partly driven by natural climate variability
Ice remnants along the shore of the Antarctic Peninsula. Bob Berwyn photo.
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — Temperature oscillations in the tropical Pacific have historically had a significant effect on the climate of the western Antarctic Peninsula, according to scientists who studied a 12,000-year fossil record to measure how much glacial ice melted into the sea during that span.
The research is important because the western Antarctic Peninsula is one of the fastest warming regions on the planet, and the fastest warming part of the Southern Hemisphere. The ice sheets of the region may be vulnerable to collapse, and would raise sea level by several meters if the melt.
The study, led by Cardiff University researchers, measured oxygen isotopes in microscopic marine algae fossils to trace glacial ice entering the ocean along the western Antarctic Peninsula. Based on the data, the study concluded that the atmospheric temperatures had a bigger factor than oceanic circulation on warming along the western Antarctic Peninsula than oceanic circulation in the late Holocene (from 3,500-250 years ago). (more…)
Filed under: climate and weather, Environment, global warming | Tagged: Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctic Peninsula warming, British Geological Survey, Cardiff University, climate change, El Nino, global warming, Jennifer Pike | Leave a Comment »
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