The effect of axi-symmetric forcing on the variability of the Antarctic Climate

The climate of Antarctica tends to be very variable, with a large inter-annual range. This variability has a maximum in the Bellinghuasen and Ross Seas and this may play a role in the warming trend seen during the last 50 years over the Antarctic Peninsula. This study uses the atmosphere only version of the UK Met. Office Hadley centre global climate model. The effect of using an axi-symmetric Antarctic orography, sea ice field and sea surface temperatures is compared to a control run using a real orography and climatological sea ice and sea surface temperatures. A detail study is made of relative effects of the oceanic forcing (sea ice and sea surface temperature) and the orographic forcing.