Antarctica and the Southern Ocean

In 2024, atmospheric conditions over Antarctica exhibited significant anomalies, and were marked by major surface and stratospheric warming and pressure fluctuations. The first half of the year (January–June) featured persistent below-normal surface pressure over the continent, a distinct zonal wavenumber-3 pattern with three deep atmospheric troughs extending over the Weddell Sea, Prydz Bay, and Ross Ice Shelf, and a positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode, with strong circumpolar westerlies. Surface pressure anomalies in February and April were particularly pronounced, with multiple stations recording record-low pressures. Strong stratospheric warming occurred in July followed by extreme surface warming in August. The surface warming was likely intensified by a compound event: 1) a strong ridge of surface high pressure along coastal East Antarctica advected warm maritime air into the continental interior, and 2) a significant positive geopotential height and temperature anomaly in the stratosphere propagated downward to the surface. As a result, multiple monthly records for high temperatures and pressure were set in August. The Antarctic Ice Sheet’s surface mass balance (SMB) in 2024 was shaped by contrasting periods of high snowfall and regional drought. The most significant anomaly occurred in May, when extreme snowfall led to record-high SMB gains across much of East and West Antarctica. Enhanced meridional moisture transport and atmospheric river events—which funneled moisture from the South Pacific and Atlantic Oceans toward the continent—supported/generated this extreme snowfall. In contrast, September emerged as the driest September on record, with a severe shortage of snowfall over the ice sheet. This was linked to an anomalously deep and eastward-shifted Amundsen Sea Low, which suppressed precipitation and led to below-average SMB across West Antarctica.

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Publication Details

Journal
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Published
2025-08-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1175/bams-d-25-0087.1
Primary Topic
Polar Research and Ecology
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Antarctica and the Southern Ocean

Luke D. Trusel, Thomas Ryan‐Keogh, Jia‐Rui Shi, Irina V. Petropavlovskikh et al.
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Polar Research and Ecology
article

Antarctica and the Southern Ocean

Luke D. Trusel, Thomas Ryan‐Keogh, Jia‐Rui Shi, Irina V. Petropavlovskikh, Leslie R. Lait, Jos de Laat, Paul A. Newman, K. R. Clem, Bryan Johnson, Jonathan Wille, Lawrence Coy, David E. Mikolajczyk, Everaldo Barreiros de Souza, Steve Colwell, Alyce M. Hancock, Christoph Kittel, Michelle Maclennan, Marilyn Raphael, N. A. Kramarova, M. L. Santee, Ryan L. Fogt, Sharon Stammerjohn, Robert A. Massom, Sandy Thomalla, Marcel du Plessis, Alison F. Banwell, H. A. Fricker, JL Lieser, Luciano Ponzi Pezzi, T. A. Scambos, Rebecca L. Beadling, Linda M. Keller, Susheel Adusumilli, Rebecca Baiman, Phillip Reid, Simon A. Josey, Rajashree Tri Datta, Mohamed Adjou, Taylor Norton, Charles Amory, Thomas L. Mote, Michael MacFerrin, C. Schulz, Mohammad Bahrami, Sandra Barreira, James Milward
article en

Abstract

In 2024, atmospheric conditions over Antarctica exhibited significant anomalies, and were marked by major surface and stratospheric warming and pressure fluctuations. The first half of the year (January–June) featured persistent below-normal surface pressure over the continent, a distinct zonal wavenumber-3 pattern with three deep atmospheric troughs extending over the Weddell Sea, Prydz Bay, and Ross Ice Shelf, and a positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode, with strong circumpolar westerlies. Surface pressure anomalies in February and April were particularly pronounced, with multiple stations recording record-low pressures. Strong stratospheric warming occurred in July followed by extreme surface warming in August. The surface warming was likely intensified by a compound event: 1) a strong ridge of surface high pressure along coastal East Antarctica advected warm maritime air into the continental interior, and 2) a significant positive geopotential height and temperature anomaly in the stratosphere propagated downward to the surface. As a result, multiple monthly records for high temperatures and pressure were set in August. The Antarctic Ice Sheet’s surface mass balance (SMB) in 2024 was shaped by contrasting periods of high snowfall and regional drought. The most significant anomaly occurred in May, when extreme snowfall led to record-high SMB gains across much of East and West Antarctica. Enhanced meridional moisture transport and atmospheric river events—which funneled moisture from the South Pacific and Atlantic Oceans toward the continent—supported/generated this extreme snowfall. In contrast, September emerged as the driest September on record, with a severe shortage of snowfall over the ice sheet. This was linked to an anomalously deep and eastward-shifted Amundsen Sea Low, which suppressed precipitation and led to below-average SMB across West Antarctica.

Bulletin of the American Meteorological SocietyVol. 106(8)
Institut polytechnique de Grenoble (FR), Ames Research Center (US), Bureau of Meteorology (AU), Northeastern University (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), Pennsylvania State University (US), Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (NL), British Antarctic Survey (GB), Australian Antarctic Division (AU), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE), University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US), University of Liège (BE), University of California, Los Angeles (US), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (US), Université de Bretagne Occidentale (FR), University of Georgia (US), Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (US), University of Colorado Boulder (US), National Oceanography Centre (GB), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (ZA), University of California San Diego (US), Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (US), Victoria University of Wellington (NZ), Integrated Marine Observing System (AU), Ohio University (US), Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement (FR), Science Systems and Applications (United States) (US), Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (FR), Argentine Naval Hydrographic Service (AR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (AU), New York University (US), Universidade Federal do Pará (BR), University of Maryland, Baltimore County (US), NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (US), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (BR), Temple University (US), University of Gothenburg (SE), Université Grenoble Alpes (FR), Delft University of Technology (NL)
National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Australian Government, Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, National Research Foundation, Royal Society Te Apārangi, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Earth Sciences Division, Australian Antarctic Division, Marsden Fund, Office of Polar Programs, Division of Polar Programs
Life below water
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Polar Research and Ecology
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