Surface Temperature in Twentieth Century at the Styx Glacier, Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica, From Borehole Thermometry

Abstract

Reconstruction of the long-term surface temperature history in Antarctica is important for a better understanding of human-induced climate changes, especially since the Industrial Revolution. We present here a surface temperature history spanning the last century at Styx Glacier, located on the eastern coast of northern Victoria Land, which is reconstructed using borehole logging data. Our results indicate that surface temperatures in the 20th century were 1.7 ± 0.4 °C higher than the long term averages over 1600–1900 Common Era, indicating regional warming over the eastern coast of northern Victoria Land. However, we found no evidence for significant warming across the northern Victoria Land since the mid-20th century. A global reanalysis as well as the reconstruction of proxy records demonstrate that the climate in this region was more affected by changes in the Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode than in the Amundsen-Bellingshausen Sea Low.