Abstract
In recent decades, many changes have occurred in the atmosphere and the ocean around Antarctica as well as to the terrestrial environments of the continent itself. The causes of these changes are numerous and varied. All components of the Antarctic environment are linked – the hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere and biosphere all respond to changes in any part of these systems, sometimes resulting in feedback mechanisms that amplify or accelerate changes that are underway. This complexity means that the causes and the consequences of climate change can be difficult to determine but some of the range of physical, biological and chemical impacts of climate change are starting to emerge or are already well established, and future effects can begin to be estimated. There is an extensive and wide-ranging literature on recent Antarctic climate change. In particular there is a comprehensive report by Turner et al. (Antarctic climate change and the environment. SCAR, Cambridge, pp 526, 2009), subject of an overview in Convey et al. (Antarct Sci 21:541–563, 2009).
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Bentley, M.J. (2015). Recent Climate Change. In: Liggett, D., Storey, B., Cook, Y., Meduna, V. (eds) Exploring the Last Continent. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18947-5_25
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