The ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy is pictured stranded

in ice in Antarctica, December 29, 2013.

05/15/2014
Why is the Antarctic cooling?
Why is the Antarctic Cooling?


Many scientists believe climate change exists. They say temperatures on Earths surface are rising. And
they say human beings are largely responsible for the warmer conditions. But the opposite seems to be
happening in Antarctica. Surface temperatures there are falling. A new study that explains these changes.

Nerilie Abram is the lead author of the study. She works as a climate scientist with the Australian National
University. She says the most important influence on weather in Antarctica is the wind.

They control how far north the rain bands go out of the Southern Ocean. And they are also really important
for temperature and, in particular, for the temperature of Antarctica and also the Antarctic Peninsula, which is
the bit of Antarctica that juts out right out into the path of those westerly winds.

The westerly winds travel around the continent. The study found that they are now stronger and their path
tighter than at any time in the past 1,000 years. That change has been especially noticeable since the
1940s.

The study was published in the journal Nature Climate Change. Ms. Abram and her team attempted to
recreate Antarcticas climate history with ice taken from the continent. They found the wind has kept large
parts of the continent cold.

But we can explain that because as those westerly winds are getting stronger, they are actually tying the
cold air over Antarctica, and it stops warm air masses from being able to get over the continent and help to
warm Antarctica. So this example of something that seems like a climate change paradox, we can actually
explain by these greenhouse gases that are strengthening the westerly winds and isolating parts of
Antarctica.

Greenhouse gases trap energy from the sun in Earths atmosphere.
However, the westerly winds are not having the same effect on the Antarctic Peninsula and parts of the
Western Antarctic ice sheet.

So as those winds have strengthened and pulled in tighter around Antarctica, they are actually bringing
warmer air over those parts. And we see really quite marked warming, particularly over the Antarctic
Peninsula. And this is the part of the southern hemisphere that is warming faster than anywhere else on
Earth at the moment.

Nerilie Abram says the westerly winds have changed direction from their normal path. Usually, those winds
would have forced cold air into the southern hemisphere. Instead, the air is trapped over Antarctica, and
keeps rain from falling on Australia.

What has been happening over the recent decades is that those westerly winds have been shifting south
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and we are getting fewer of those cold fronts and storms coming up and giving that really important rain. And
so that is why Australia is experiencing these very severe droughts.

She adds that the Southern Ocean winds have intensified because of the warmer atmosphere. She says the
winds could return to a more normal pattern if action is taken to reduce greenhouse gases.

Im Anna Matteo.



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