Fifty-year Amundsen-Scott South Pole station surface climatology

Fifty-four years of Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station meteorological data have been analyzed to develop a comprehensive climatology from the station's meteorological observations. In reaching the goal of a full climatological analysis, a meteorological station history was required and a full quality control review of the data was conducted. Analysis of the general fifty-year climate is presented for temperature, pressure, wind speed and wind direction along with averages (means), extremes and records, daily ranges, trends and discontinuities. Additional investigations include how often the temperature reaches -100 degrees F and changes in the flying season as seen via acceptable temperatures. The analysis found slight decreases in the temperature and pressure over the 1957-2010 time period that are not statistically significant. The wind speed, however, does show a significant downward trend of 0.28 m s(-1) decade(-1) over the same period. The seasonal time series of temperature and pressure illustrate how longer term oscillations are superimposed on shorter-term fluctuations. The seasonal mean wind speed over the 54 year period shows a consistent pattern of decreasing speed for all seasons. In contrast to the mean wind speeds, the maximum wind speeds are increasing for the summer and transition seasons, and the increases are statistically significant. Finally, for the period 1983-2010, the average annual snow accumulation is decreasing at a statistically significant downward rate of -2.9 mm year(-1). (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.