Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 4.30
Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC)
figure of
simulated twentieth century temperatures
(a) with (yellow and red lines) and
(b) without (blue lines) greenhouse
gas forcing. The black lines in (a) and
(b) show the observed global temperature.
1.0
(a)
-0.5
-0.0
-0.5
Pinatubo
El Chichon
S
M
A
-1.0
1900
1920
1940
1960
Year
1980
2000
1.0
(b)
0.5
0.0
-0.5
Pinatubo
El Chichon
S
M
A
-1.0
1900
1920
1940
1960
Year
1980
2000
the Antarctic during the twenty-
rst century. This expected increase in Antarctic
precipitation is important in that increased snowfall over the Antarctic continent
will contribute to an increase in the amount of ice contained in the Antarctic ice
sheet, since even with the projected warming Antarctic temperatures will still be too
cold to allow melting over much of the ice sheet. This increase in ice stored in the
Antarctic ice sheet will contribute to a reduction in global sea level, helping to offset
part of the expected sea level rise from other sources during the twenty-
rst century.
In this chapter we have discussed the mechanisms responsible for creating the
unique weather found in the Antarctic. The weather in Antarctica is unlike the
weather anywhere else on our planet, with conditions ranging from the coldest
temperatures recorded at the surface of Earth to locations that experience hurricane
force winds for weeks on end. We have also seen that the weather and climate of
Antarctica are critical to driving the weather and climate across our planet. At the
most basic level, the contrast between the cold polar regions and the warm tropics
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