Air temperature time series for King George Island, Antarctica

Abstract

In this paper, we present a continuous time series of the mean annual and seasonal air temperatures for King George Island (KGI), for the period of 1947-1995, combining data from several meteorological stations in the South Shetland Islands. These series are analyzed for trends. The series are also compared with the mean monthly sea ice extent, recorded at 60 • W. The mean annual temperature during this period was −2.8 • C, with a minimum of −5.2 • C, in 1959, and a maximum of −0.8 • C, in 1989. This record shows a warming trend of 0.022 • C a −1 , in the studied time interval, a rise of 1.1 • C in 49 years. Winter shows the most pronounced seasonal warming trend, 0.038 • C a −1 , or 1.9 • C in the period. These trends are better defined than at the Faraday station. Abrupt variations in the mean annual temperature, up to 3.9 • C over three years, have been recorded. Spectral analysis of these time series shows cycles of 5.3 and 9.6 years. A one-month lag is observed between the winter months mean temperatures in KGI and sea ice extent in the 60 • W sector.