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A Validation of Antarctic Pressure Reconstructions Using Historical Climate Data

Belak, Connor Paul
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouashonors1555501885385141

Abstract Details

2019, Bachelor of Sciences, Ohio University, Geography.
Antarctica may be one of Earth's most complex climates, however it is not as well studied and understood as many other regions across Earth. A major challenge faced in understanding Antarctic climate is that climate-related records are comparably short to the majority of observations on the planet. For example, most continuous Antarctic pressure observations did not start until the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58. To extend the relatively short observations, reconstructions of Antarctic climate have been created recently, including a spatial pressure reconstruction poleward of 60°S that includes the Antarctic continent. All successful reconstructions require thorough evaluations. While this can be done in a traditional statistical sense, there is considerable value of comparing the reconstructed data directly to any available independent observations that were withheld during the reconstruction procedure. For Antarctic pressure reconstructions, one source of such comparison is historical data. These measurements come from ship records, whaling and sealing expeditions across the Southern Ocean, early Antarctic explorers, short records at temporary Antarctic bases / stations, and other data archives, many of which are just now being digitized for the first time. Three different databases were used to extract historical pressure observations to compare to the Antarctic pressure reconstructions: ISPD, ICOADS, and ACRE. Each database provided unique and useful data in a variety of ways. The bias, MAE, and RMSD were calculated for the entirety of each station for the full and partial seasons. Overall, the reconstructions have a slight negative bias for the full and partial seasons. As expected, the average full seasons had slightly better statistical values than the average partial seasons. Several high elevation stations had a prominent poor reconstruction. The poor reconstruction does not mean the reconstruction itself was poor, but rather the correction factor applied to the reconstruction was poor. At many other locations, the reconstructions align very well with independent observations. Altogether, the results of this study confirm that these reconstructions are a reliable tool to extend Antarctic pressure back until the early 20th century, especially when the limitations (further outlined by this research) of these reconstructed are carefully considered.
Ryan L Fogt, Dr (Advisor)
105 p.
Atmospheric Sciences; Climate Change; Geography
Antarctic Climate; Pressure Reconstructions

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Belak, C. P. (2019). A Validation of Antarctic Pressure Reconstructions Using Historical Climate Data [Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouashonors1555501885385141

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Belak, Connor. A Validation of Antarctic Pressure Reconstructions Using Historical Climate Data. 2019. Ohio University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouashonors1555501885385141.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Belak, Connor. "A Validation of Antarctic Pressure Reconstructions Using Historical Climate Data." Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouashonors1555501885385141

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ouashonors1555501885385141
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© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University Art and Sciences Honors Theses and OhioLINK.