Climate and climate change in the sub-Antarctic

Abstract

Meteorologically, the sub-Antarctic is sparsely represented in the climate literature. Drawing on a variety of sources that are either directly or indirectly linked to the sub-Antarctic, an overview of the climate of the sub-Antarctic is presented. In doing so, we note that, for the most part, the sub-Antarctic climate is more or less fixed to mean monthly air temperatures between -5°C and + l 5°C. Brief discussion explores the roles of teleconnections that appear to affect the sub-Antarctic climate, focusing on the Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode (SAM). We report on meteorological evidence of climate change that has occurred in the recent history of the sub-Antarctic and note that rainfall climate-change signals from Marion and Macquarie islands are consistent with trends associated with the SAM index. We report that modelling suggests that the climate of the sub-Antarctic will continue to change through the twenty-first century in line with twentieth-century trends. The need for more research into the climate of the sub-Antarctic, underpinned by a robust databank of quality controlled sub-Antarctic meteorological data, is noted. Key Words: climate, climate change, Marion Island, Macquarie Island, Southern Annular Mode, sub-Antarctic, teleconnections.