Trends in long-term synoptic observations of clouds and precipitation at Vernadsky

Reanalysis data shows as a consequence a significant reduction in sea ice in the area of the Western Antarctic Peninsula. This is thought to have caused the temperature increase observed in the records, which make the Western Antarctic Peninsula one of the fastest warming regions on Earth. Recently performed comprehensive analyses of synoptic observations of cloud parameters recorded at the Antarctic base Faraday/ Vernadsky for the period 1960 to 2005 have shown that one effect of the warming is a significant increase in the annual mean of the total cloud cover. The strongest and most significant positive seasonal trend was found in winter, but positive tendencies are observable in all seasons. A direct consequence of these changes is an increase in the number of days on which some form of precipitation is recorded. In combination with the rising air temperatures this leads to significant changes in the phase of the observed precipitation. The number of non-frozen precipitation events has increased by 2.4 events per year. Though the highest seasonal trend is observed in summer (1.2 events per year), the increases in spring and autumn will probably have the most impact.