Trends of variations in the mean annual surface temperature and salinity anomalies in the Southern Hemisphere

Abstract

Using linear and quadratic regression approaches, the present work aims at drawing the general long-term behaviour of the mean annual surface temperature and salinity anomalies (MASTA & MASSA) within the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans. The dataset covers 103 years (1911-2013) within the former, while it covers 155 years (1859-2013) within the latter ocean. The MASTA variations in the two southern oceans reflect opposite linear and quadratic trends of variations. The linear trends of MASSA are also in contrast. On the other hand, the quadratic regression, reflecting a cyclic trend of variation in the MASSA, has the same parabolic form in the two basins but with different years of maximum occurrence. The decreasing trends in the MASSA of Pacific Ocean may be attributed to the ice melting process, the interannual variability of evaporation and the amount of precipitation over the Pacific than on the Atlantic.