Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T07:44:58.320Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Testing the Doran summer climate rules in Upper Wright Valley, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2015

Christopher P. McKay
Christopher P. McKay*
Affiliation:
Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
*
chris.mckay@nasa.gov
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Based on data from low elevation lake sites, previous studies have suggested three quantitative relationships related to summer (December, January and February) air temperatures in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica: i) decrease with altitude at the dry lapse rate of 9.8°C km-1, ii) increase with distance from the coast at a rate of 0.09°C km-1, and iii) degree-days above freezing during the summer months is logarithmically proportional to the maximum summer air temperature. Here, we tested the first two of these rules at high elevation sites in Upper Wright Valley. Direct measurements confirmed that the summer lapse rate followed the dry lapse rate. For the three furthest stations, Tyrol Valley, Mount Fleming and Horseshoe Crater, the average difference between the measurements and the predicted summer monthly averages are -2.1±1.4°C, -0.5±1.0°C and -0.4±0.9°C, respectively. By contrast, at Linnaeus Terrace (54 km from the coast) the monthly average is warmer than predicted by several degrees: +4.3±1.3°C. The inland temperature gradient at these high elevation sites may result from sunlight effects rather than coastal wind as previously shown for the lower valleys. The warm conditions observed c. 50 km from the coast may reflect a zone affected by both sunlight and coastal wind.

Keywords

AntarcticaclimateDoran climate rulesDry Valleyslapse rate
Type
Physical Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , August 2015 , pp. 411 - 415
Check for updates
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bromley, A.M. 1985. Weather observations: Wright Valley, Antarctica. Information publication, no. 11. Wellington: New Zealand Meteorological Service, 37 pp.Google Scholar
Bull, C. 1966. Climatological observations in ice-free areas of southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, in studies in Antarctic meteorology. Antarctic Research Series, 9, 177–194.Google Scholar
Clow, G.D., McKay, C.P., Simmons, G.M. Jr & Wharton, R.A. Jr 1988. Climatological observations and predicted sublimation rates at Lake Hoare, Antarctica. Journal of Climate, 1, 715–728.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Doran, P.T., McKay, C.P., Clow, G.D., Dana, G.L., Fountain, A.G., Nylen, T. & Lyons, W.B. 2002. Valley floor climate observations from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, 1986–2000. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 107, 10.1029/2001JD002045.Google Scholar
Doran, P.T., McKay, C.P., Fountain, A.G., Nylen, T., McKnight, D.M., Jaros, C. & Barrett, J.E. 2008. Hydrologic response to extreme warm and cold summers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 20, 499–509.Google Scholar
Friedmann, E.I. 1982. Endolithic microorganisms in the Antarctic cold desert. Science, 215, 1045–1053.Google Scholar
Friedmann, E.I., Druk, A.Y. & McKay, C.P. 1994. Limits of life and microbial extinction in the Antarctic desert. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 29, 176–179.Google Scholar
Friedmann, E.I., McKay, C.P. & Nienow, J.A. 1987. The cryptoendolithic microbial environment in the Ross Desert of Antarctica: satellite-transmitted continuous nanoclimate data, 1984 to 1986. Polar Biology, 7, 273–287.Google ScholarPubMed
Friedmann, E.I., Kappen, L., Meyer, M.A. & Nienow, J.A. 1993. Long-term productivity in the cryptoendolithic microbial community of the Ross Desert, Antarctica. Microbial Ecology, 25, 51–69.Google Scholar
Keys, J.R. 1980. Air temperature, wind, precipitation and atmospheric humidity in the McMurdo region. Publication no. 17. Wellington: Geology Department, Victoria University, 57 pp.Google Scholar
McKay, C.P. & Friedmann, E.I. 1985. The cryptoendolithic microbial environment in the Antarctic cold desert: temperature variations in nature. Polar Biology, 4, 19–25.Google Scholar
McKay, C.P., Mellon, M.T. & Friedmann, E.I. 1998. Soil temperatures and stability of ice-cemented ground in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 10, 31–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McKay, C.P., Nienow, J.A., Meyer, M.A. & Friedmann, E.I. 1993. Continuous nanoclimate data (1985–1988) from the Ross Desert (McMurdo Dry Valleys) cryptoendolithic microbial ecosystem. Antarctic Research Series, 61, 201–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nylen, T.H., Fountain, A.G. & Doran, P.T. 2004. Climatology of katabatic winds in the McMurdo dry valleys, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 109, 10.1029/2003JD003937.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peixoto, J.P. & Oort, A.H. 1992. Physics of climate. New York, NY: American Institute of Physics, 564 pp.Google Scholar
Sun, H.J. 2013. Endolithic microbial life in extreme cold climate: snow is required, but perhaps less is more. Biology, 2, 693–701.Google Scholar
Wharton, R.A., McKay, C.P., Clow, G.D., Andersen, D.T, Simmons, G.M. & Love, F.G. 1992. Changes in ice cover thickness and lake level of Lake Hoare, Antarctica: implications for local climatic change. Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 97, 3503–3513.Google Scholar