Marble Point, Antarctica: A Climatological Analysis

Marble Point, a helicopter refueling station 43 nautical miles northwest of the United States Antarctic Program’s (USAP) base hub of operations, McMurdo station, has contained an automatic weather station (AWS) for over 42 years. This study seeks to quantify changes seen over the observation period at one of the longest running AWS on the continent of Antarctica. To do so, a new classification of seasons has been adopted, splitting the traditional year into five seasons. An analysis of the climatology confirmed the existence of climate change, and rebuked prior findings. The analysis reveals Marble Point has warmed by 1.68º C over four decades. Yet, the rate of warming has steadily increased over the observation period, with a current rate of 1.03º C per decade from 2000-2022. If this rate continues, Marble Point and its surrounding region may experience dramatic changes affecting the surface conditions (e.g. ecology, snow coverage/albedo, sea ice, etc.).