The Cryosphere
The Cryosphere
TC
Articles | Volume 17, issue 10
Articles | Volume 17, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4399-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4399-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 17, issue 10
Research article
 | 
19 Oct 2023
Research article |  | 19 Oct 2023

Characteristics and rarity of the strong 1940s westerly wind event over the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica

Gemma K. O'Connor, Paul R. Holland, Eric J. Steig, Pierre Dutrieux, and Gregory J. Hakim

Data sets

20th century winds, pressure, and temperature around Antarctica from single-proxy data assimilation Gemma K. O'Connor, Paul R. Holland, Eric J. Steig, Pierre Dutrieux, and Gregory J. Hakim https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8007655

Model code and software

goconnor6/1940_ASE_Analysis: OConnor_2023_tc (v1.0) Gemma O'Connor https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10011500

modons/LMR Andre Perkins https://github.com/modons/LMR

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Short summary
Glaciers in West Antarctica are rapidly melting, but the causes are unknown due to limited observations. A leading hypothesis is that an unusually large wind event in the 1940s initiated the ocean-driven melting. Using proxy reconstructions (e.g., using ice cores) and climate model simulations, we find that wind events similar to the 1940s event are relatively common on millennial timescales, implying that ocean variability or climate trends are also necessary to explain the start of ice loss.
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