Western Indian Ocean SST signal and anomalous Antarctic sea-ice concentration variation

Teleconnection between El Nino/La Nina-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon and anoma- lous Antarctic sea-ice variation has been studied extensively. In this study, impacts of sea surface temperature in the Indian Ocean on Antarctic sea-ice change were investigated during Janaury 1979 and October 2009. Based on previous research results, sea areas in the western Indian Ocean (WIO; 50°-70°E, 10°-20°S) are selected for the resreach. All variables showed 1-10 year interan- nual timescales by Fast Founer Tranaform (FFT) transformation. Results show that i) strong WIO signals emerged in the anomalous changes of Antarctic sea-ice concentration; ii) significant positive correlations occurred around the Antarctic Peninsula, Ross Sea and its northwest peripheral sea region iii) negative correlation occurred in the Indian Ocean section of the Southern Ocean, Amund- sen Seas, and the sea area over northern Ross Sea; and iv) the atmospheric anomalies associated with the WIO including wind, meridional heat flux, and surface air temperature over southern high latitudes were the possible factors for the teleconnection.