Interannual variability and trends of sea surface temperature around southern South America

The study identifies divergent sea surface temperature trends around southern South America between 1982 and 2017, with warming in mid-latitude regions and the Northern Patagonian Shelf, and cooling south of 50°S and on the Southern Patagonian Shelf. These trends became most significant between 2008 and 2017 and are linked to atmospheric forcing and large-scale climate modes including ENSO, the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation, and the Southern Annular Mode.

• Between 1982 and 2017, sea surface temperature (SST) trends around southern South America varied by region: mid-latitude areas (30°–50°S) in the eastern South Pacific and western South Atlantic experienced moderate to intense warming of approximately 0.4°C per decade, while regions south of 50°S showed moderate cooling of approximately -0.3°C per decade.
• On the Patagonian Shelf in the southwest South Atlantic, two areas showed statistically significant opposite trends from 1982 to 2017: the Northern Patagonian Shelf (NPS, 42-45°S) warmed by 0.15 ± 0.01°C per decade (total increase of 0.52°C), and the Southern Patagonian Shelf (SPS, 49-52°S) cooled by -0.12 ± 0.01°C per decade (total decrease of 0.42°C).
• The most significant SST trends occurred during 2008–2017 (0.35 ± 0.02°C decade-1 at NPS and -0.27 ± 0.03°C decade-1 at SPS), whereas trends from 1982–2007 were non-significant. Interannual variability is associated with atmospheric forcing and the combined influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation, and the Southern Annular Mode.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Interannual variability and trends of sea surface temperature around southern South America. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/interannual-variability-and-trends-of-sea-surface-temperature-around-southern-south-america/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Interannual variability and trends of sea surface temperature around southern South America. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/interannual-variability-and-trends-of-sea-surface-temperature-around-southern-south-america/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Interannual variability and trends of sea surface temperature around southern South America |date=6 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/interannual-variability-and-trends-of-sea-surface-temperature-around-southern-south-america/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025interannual, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Interannual variability and trends of sea surface temperature around southern South America}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/interannual-variability-and-trends-of-sea-surface-temperature-around-southern-south-america/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }