Date/Time
Date(s) - Fri 25 June
12:00 - 13:00
Location
CO216, Cotton Building, VUW
Antarctica’s sea ice cover is an important component in the global climate system. Over the past four decades of satellite monitoring, Antarctic sea ice has shown large interannual variability and no clear trend – in stark comparison to the loss of sea ice in the Arctic. At present, these trends and variability are unable to be accurately reproduced by models. This is in part because the processes that determine sea ice distribution are not yet well understood, particularly in the East Antarctic region. With the growing recognition that areas of East Antarctica are more vulnerable to climate change than previously assumed, further research into the drivers of sea ice variability is needed to enable accurate projections of how Antarctic sea ice and climate is likely to change in the future. My thesis explored the relationships between satellite-era climate variability and sea ice around East Antarctica, the spatial variability in these relationships, and the impacts that these relationships may have on other aspects of the climate and cryosphere. I achieved this through the analysis of satellite-derived HadlSST sea ice concentration (SIC) alongside ERA5 atmospheric reanalysis data for the period between 1979-2018. The main findings of this PhD include 1) the first clear evidence for a link between El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and East Antarctic sea ice, 2) a relationship between the Indian Ocean Dipole and East Antarctic sea ice, and 3) evidence that Antarctic SIC variability is associated with changes in precipitation over the Antarctic continent.
All Welcome
Via Zoom: https://vuw.zoom.us/j/93300927783