Richard Cullather

Studies of the Recent Climate of Coastal Antarctica

In this talk, I present two topics that are motivated by the February-March 2007 Antarctic cruise of the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer. In the first topic, the one year time series of temperature, pressure, and salinity recorded in four Amundsen Sea continental shelf moorings recovered during the cruise are analyzed in comparison to available atmospheric data. The moorings were located in the Pine Island Bay, and adjacent to the Dotson and Getz Ice Shelf fronts. The analysis depicts the surface environments that are associated with each mooring location and identifies the forcing mechanisms that are associated with the overlying sea ice conditions. A strong heterogeneity is described in both atmospheric and oceanic conditions along the Amundsen Sea coast. In the second topic, the contemporary surface moisture flux over the Antarctic ice sheet and the adjacent high latitudes of the Southern Ocean is reviewed in the context of quantitative and anecdotal observations made during the cruise.