An updated reconstruction of Antarctic near-surface air temperatures at monthly intervals since 1958

Abstract

An updated near-surface temperature reconstruction for the Antarctic continent is presented for 1958-2022 (65 years) as monthly anomalies relative to 1981-2010 (RECON; Bromwich and Wang, 2024, https://doi.org/10.48567/efwt-jw56). It is based on monthly mean 2 m temperatures at 15 fixed stations that are spatially extrapolated to the entire continent using weights derived from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) and has a grid spacing of 60 km. Infilling of the fixed station records is performed where necessary to yield complete time series for 1958-2022. Variability and trends are tested at independent stations that have much shorter periods of record. RECON is designed for Antarctic climate variability and change applications for large spatial scales and extended timescales.