Drivers of change: climate and ocean
These pages provide information on some key drivers of change in global ice sheets and glaciers. See also: Southern Westerly Winds Circumpolar Deep Water
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SWW
Southern Annular Mode
Today, glaciers in Patagonia and Antarctica are receding. In both cases, this has been attributed to changes in the Southern Westerly Winds and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). The Southern Westerly Winds are an important wind belt that encircles the globe in the southern mid-latitudes1,2, with its core between 50-55°S1. The Southern Annular Mode describes
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The westerly winds and the Patagonian Ice Sheet
The moisture-bearing Southern Westerly Winds The Patagonian Ice Sheet, which formed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) around 21,000 years ago, was strongly influenced by the Southern Westerly Winds. These winds blow around the Southern Hemisphere in the mid-latitudes (see map below) and deliver snow and rain to the western coast of southern South America[1],
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Patagonian Ice Sheet
This page summarises some of our recent research on the dynamics of Patagonian outlet glaciers during the Last Glacial Maximum and following deglaciation. Pages on glacial landforms are especially relevant to the Geography A-Level curriculum. Here, you can watch a seminar I gave about the Patagonian Ice Sheet: Further reading: QFuego-Patagonia: a website that includes
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Changes to Circumpolar Deep Water
What is Circumpolar Deep Water? Circumpolar Deep Water is derived from a mixture of all the World’s oceans[1]. It is a relatively salty, warm current, >3.5°C above freezing point, which flows onto the continental shelf at depths of more than 300 m[2]. It is overlain by colder, fresher surface waters. Circumpolar Deep Water is critical
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Glaciers and Climate
This section of the website highlights how glaciers interact with climate, and how changing climate is changing glaciers around the world today. Globally, glaciers are receding and shrinking in response to atmospheric warming. The signal is remarkably consistent across different continents and mountain ranges. Glaciers are a critical water resource in many mountain regions of
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Patagonian Ice Sheet thinning during a changing climate
J.Boex, C. Fogwill, S. Harrison, N.F. Glasser, A. Hein, C. Schnabel and S. Xu. Rapid thinning of the Late Pleistocene Patagonian Ice Sheet followed migration of the Southern Westerlies. Scientific Reports 3: 2118, p. 1-6 Download the PDF The Patagonian Ice Sheet This recent open-access paper in the new journal Science Communications, which is part
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Climate Change
What is climate? | Quaternary climates | Is our climate changing? | The Role of Carbon Dioxide | Climate change in Antarctica | Observed impacts of climate change | References | Comments | What is climate? First, it is important here to note the differences between weather and climate. Weather is local and what you