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Publications

This review co-lead by Jonathan Wille (ETH, Switzerland), Vincent Favier (IGE, France) and Irina Gorodetskaya (CIIMAR, Portugal) and coauthored by a large international team of researchers, examines Antarctic atmospheric rivers (ARs) rare but impactful extreme weather events that transport heat and moisture from the Southern Hemisphere to the Antarctic continent. While ARs contribute significantly to snowfall and can enhance ice-sheet mass balance, they also induce surface melting, sea ice loss, and ice shelf destabilization. Typically forming within Rossby waves triggered by tropical convection, ARs occur around three days per year per location but account for 50–70% of extreme snowfall in East Antarctica since the 1980s. They have also played roles in major ice shelf collapses, such as Larsen A (1995) and Larsen B (2002). As climate change drives increased atmospheric moisture, stronger ARs are expected. We highlight the need for further research to understand how these evolving events will affect Antarctica's ice-sheet mass balance and future sea-level rise.

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  1. Simon, Sibin; Turner, John; Meloth, Thamban; Deb, Pranab; Gorodetskaya, Irina V; Lazzara, Matthew. "An extreme precipitation event over Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica - A case study of an atmospheric river event using the Polar WRF Model". Atmospheric Research 311 (2024): 107724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2024.107724.

    Acesso aberto • Publicado • 10.1016/j.atmosres.2024.107724

  2. Zhenhai Zhang; F. Martin Ralph; Xun Zou; Brian Kawzenuk; Minghua Zheng; Irina V. Gorodetskaya; Penny M. Rowe; David H. Bromwich. "Extending the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) atmospheric river scale to the polar regions". The Cryosphere (2024): https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5239-2024.

    10.5194/tc-18-5239-2024

  3. Wille, Jonathan D.; Alexander, Simon P.; Amory, Charles; Baiman, Rebecca; Barthélemy, Léonard; Bergstrom, Dana M.; Berne, Alexis; et al. "The Extraordinary March 2022 East Antarctica “Heat” Wave. Part I: Observations and Meteorological Drivers". Journal of Climate 37 3 (2024): 757-778. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-23-0175.1.

    Acesso aberto • Publicado • 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0175.1

  4. Wille, Jonathan D.; Alexander, Simon P.; Amory, Charles; Baiman, Rebecca; Barthélemy, Léonard; Bergstrom, Dana M.; Berne, Alexis; et al. "The Extraordinary March 2022 East Antarctica “Heat” Wave. Part II: Impacts on the Antarctic Ice Sheet". Journal of Climate 37 3 (2024): 779-799. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-23-0176.1.

    Acesso aberto • 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0176.1

  5. Wille, J.D.; Alexander, S.P.; Amory, C.; Baiman, R.; Barthélemy, L.; Bergstrom, D.M.; Berne, A.; et al. "The Extraordinary March 2022 East Antarctica “Heat” Wave. Part I: Observations and Meteorological Drivers". Journal of Climate 37 3 (2024): 757-778. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85182524996&partnerID=MN8TOARS.

    10.1175/JCLI-D-23-0175.1

  6. Wille, J.D.; Pohl, B.; Favier, V.; Winters, A.C.; Baiman, R.; Cavallo, S.M.; Leroy-Dos Santos, C.; et al. "Examining Atmospheric River Life Cycles in East Antarctica". Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 129 8 (2024): http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85190775689&partnerID=MN8TOARS.

    10.1029/2023JD039970

  7. Wille, J.D.; Alexander, S.P.; Amory, C.; Baiman, R.; Barthélemy, L.; Bergstrom, D.M.; Berne, A.; et al. "The Extraordinary March 2022 East Antarctica “Heat” Wave. Part II: Impacts on the Antarctic Ice Sheet". Journal of Climate 37 3 (2024): 779-799. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85182523379&partnerID=MN8TOARS.

    10.1175/JCLI-D-23-0176.1

  8. Irina V. Gorodetskaya; Claudio Durán-Alarcón; Sergi González-Herrero; Kyle R. Clem; Xun Zou; Penny Rowe; Paola Rodriguez Imazio; et al. "Record-high Antarctic Peninsula temperatures and surface melt in February 2022: a compound event with an intense atmospheric river". npj Climate and Atmospheric Science (2023): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-023-00529-6.

    10.1038/s41612-023-00529-6

  9. Evangelista, Heitor; Prado, Luciana F.; Gorodetskaya, Irina V.; Reis Passos, Heber; Nadal Villela, Franco; Sampaio, Marcelo; Alves dos Santos, Elaine; de Brito, Carla M.C.. "The June 2022 extreme warm event in central West Antarctica". Antarctic Science 35 5 (2023): 319-327. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102023000238.

    10.1017/s0954102023000238

Our Conference Presentations

2025
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AARG - workshop : 3rd Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers' Group workshop

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European Geosciences Union (EGU) - General Assembly 

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BAS - Workshop on Polar Winter Climate and Processes

2024
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 XIth SCAR – Open Science Conference

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