Ri. Cullather et al., INTERANNUAL VARIATIONS IN ANTARCTIC PRECIPITATION RELATED TO EL-NINO SOUTHERN OSCILLATION, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, 101(D14), 1996, pp. 19109-19118
The accurate estimation of Antarctic precipitation variability is an e
ssential component in understanding global sea level fluctuations; dir
ect measurement techniques, however, are replete with practical diffic
ulties. In this study, net precipitation (precipitation minus sublimat
ion) for the Antarctic continent is computed for 1980-1994 using opera
tional numerical analyses obtained from the ECMWF (European Centre for
Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). The resulting estimations reveal a s
trong interannual variability for the Antarctic continent, implying a
+/-1.2 - 1.5 mm yr(-1) maximum range in the Antarctic eustatic change
contribution. In particular, variability for the South Pacific sector
(120 degrees W-180 degrees W) is shown to be correlated with the El Ni
no-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon for 1980-1990. The relation
becomes anticorrelated after 1990, associated with a strong East Antar
ctic ridging pattern that coincides with the start of the prolonged se
ries of warm events of the early 1990s. This result is relevant to oth
er studies relating ENSO variability to high southern latitudes, and a
more elaborate picture of this teleconnection pattern is presented. C
omparisons of sea level pressure values using available ship observati
ons show good agreement and offer a confirmation of the analyses in th
is data-sparse region. Additionally, a comparison of results with valu
es obtained from the precipitation fields of the NCEP/NCAR (NCEP: Nati
onal Centers for Environmental Prediction; NCAR: National Center for A
tmospheric Research) reanalysis project are discussed.