A warm event at Patriot Hills, Antarctica: An ENSO related Phenomenon?

Between 6 and 9 December 1997, the surface air temperature increase up to 3 C. The ice surface field used as runway for large aircraft melted forming a slippery layer of iceand water. The ice along the hills melted forming a small lake at the foot of the slope. This is the first time after three consecutive campaigns, for almost the same period, that temperatures above cero are registered. El Niño southern oscillation (ENSO) was under way during 1997. The warming observed at Patriot Hills can be related with large-scale circulation anomalies associated with ENSO. Here, that possibility is analyzed.