Abstract
The climatic constraints of the southernmost tip of South America (45° S to 57° S) is examined and compared with the corresponding latitudes in the northern hemisphere.
Southern summers are cooler than northern summers by 5.5 to 6°C owing to subantarctic influences and constantly-blowing oceanic winds. Although frost and snowfall are less common than in the northern hemisphere, they can occur well into the summer months. Cold air exports from the antarctic and the location of the antarctic convergence near 60° S explain the steady coolness of ocean and air masses. The constant winds cause tree deformations and inhibit vegetation growth because of the negative influence that winds faster than 4 m/sec have on photosynthesis efficiency. The absence of long-lasting warm summer periods that would stimulate plant growth is due to scarce or weak anticyclonic thrusts and to the permanent west wind drift. To be added to this is a chronic shortage of air humidity on the eastern slopes of the Patagonian Andes and plains which again curtails crop growth. On the western slopes, on the other hand, continuous orographic rains prove also a hindrance to cultivation. Therefore, only north of 42° S do conditions for permanent cultivation become optimal.
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Weischet, W. Climatic constraints for the development of the far south of Latin America. GeoJournal 11, 79–87 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00572941
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00572941