Monthly mean surface temperature at Mawson station


1. Dataset information

Station location: 67°36'S, 62°52'E, Horseshoe Harbour, Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica.

WMO identification: 89564

Data in black are derived from the READER dataset and are calculated from 6-hourly synoptic data. Data after 2005, shown in red, have been provided by Doug Shepherd and Ian Barnes-Keoghan of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and are based on 3-hourly synoptic data. These values will be adjusted to be compatible with the READER data at some point in the future; however, any differences will be minimal.

Go straight to the data.


2. Derived climate information

(i) Annual, seasonal and monthly temperature statistics for Mawson

With regard to summer (DJF) the year refers to the December.

Annual/Season/Month Mean
(°C)
σ
(°C)
Min.
(°C)
q0.25
(°C)
q0.75
(°C)
Max.
(°C)
Period n
Calendar year−11.20.7−13.4−11.6−10.8−9.61955-201157
Autumn−13.61.4−16.8−14.7−12.8−10.71955-201258
Winter−17.71.8−21.9−19.0−16.3−14.51954-201259
Spring−11.91.0−13.7−12.5−11.2−9.51954-201259
Summer−1.60.7−3.2−2.1−1.2+0.31954-201158
January0.01.0−2.7−0.6+0.8+2.51955-201258
February−4.21.1−6.9−5.0−3.7−1.11955-201258
March−10.01.4−12.8−11.2−9.2−6.81955-201258
April−14.52.0−19.2−15.8−13.1−10.11954-201259
May−16.42.5−21.5−18.4−14.7−9.91954-201259
June−16.62.4−23.3−18.3−14.9−11.61954-201259
July−17.92.8−24.0−20.0−16.1−8.91954-201259
August−18.62.7−24.1−20.6−16.5−14.01954-201259
September−17.32.3−23.0−18.8−15.7−12.71954-201259
October−13.01.6−16.5−13.9−12.0−8.81954-201259
November−5.51.1−8.5−6.1−4.9−2.71954-201259
December−0.51.0−2.4−1.4+0.3+2.01954-201158
Summary of annual, seasonal and monthly Mawson surface temperature statistics

The monthly data are summarised in a PDF plot: Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded from here

Mawson monthly temperature statistics: this plot shows the mean, quartiles and range for each month.



(ii) Annual, seasonal and monthly trends in the Mawson surface temperature data

The trends listed below include 95% confidence intervals. The methodology is based upon:

Santer B.D., T.M.L. Wigley, J.S. Boyle, D. J. Gaffen, J.J. Hnilo, D. Nychka, D.E. Parker and K.E. Taylor. 2000: Statistical significance of trends and trend differences in layer-average temperature time series. Journal of Geophysical Research, 105, 7337-7356.

Briefly, an effective sample size is calculated based on the lag-1 autocorrelation coefficient of the regression residuals, This effective sample size is used for the computation of the standard error and in indexing the critical values of the Student''s t distribution.

The significance level of the trend is given if it is less than 10%, 5% or 1%. With regard to summer (DJF) the year refers to the December.

Annual/Season/Month Annual trend
(°C a−1)
Significance
(%)
Period n
Calendar year−0.0023 ± 0.0101-1955-201157
Autumn−0.0090 ± 0.0213-1955-201258
Winter+0.0043 ± 0.0214-1954-201259
Spring+0.0012 ± 0.0133-1954-201259
Summer−0.0092 ± 0.0132-1954-201158
January−0.0100 ± 0.0188-1955-201258
February+0.0005 ± 0.0176-1955-201258
March+0.0072 ± 0.0206-1955-201258
April−0.0066 ± 0.0327-1954-201259
May−0.0190 ± 0.0370-1954-201259
June+0.0096 ± 0.0347-1954-201259
July+0.0042 ± 0.0386-1954-201259
August−0.0010 ± 0.0319-1954-201259
September+0.0153 ± 0.0309-1954-201259
October−0.0071 ± 0.0223-1954-201259
November−0.0047 ± 0.0174-1954-201259
December−0.0182 ± 0.016251954-201158
Summary of trends in annual, seasonal and monthly Mawson surface temperature

PDF plots of the annual and seasonal data: Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded from here

Calendar year Autumn (MAM) Winter (JJA) Spring (SON) Summer (DJF)


3. The dataset

        JAN    FEB    MAR    APR    MAY    JUN    JUL    AUG    SEP    OCT    NOV    DEC    ANN

1954                       -17.5  -17.5  -14.4  -17.2  -19.7  -20.8  -14.7   -5.1    0.3
1955   -0.1   -6.9  -12.1  -14.3  -14.1  -18.3  -17.7  -15.3  -16.5  -11.2   -3.3    0.4  -10.8
1956    1.0   -2.7  -11.3  -11.9  -14.7  -16.4  -17.4  -21.7  -17.7  -13.3   -5.0    1.3  -10.8
1957    0.8   -4.1   -9.9  -13.0  -15.4  -11.6  -17.8  -15.7  -18.3   -8.8   -5.9   -0.3  -10.0
1958    0.1   -5.6   -9.4  -14.3  -14.7  -15.7  -15.8  -19.9  -17.9  -13.7   -6.1   -0.5  -11.1
1959   -1.5   -5.4   -6.9  -13.3  -14.5  -15.7  -17.1  -16.6  -19.8  -12.2   -7.0   -0.3  -10.9
1960   -0.2   -3.4  -12.3  -16.7  -18.3  -22.0  -21.7  -18.9  -17.9  -13.6   -5.8   -1.3  -12.7
1961   -0.5   -1.6   -9.1  -12.9  -12.9  -15.3  -15.4  -16.8  -12.8  -12.0   -4.6   -1.5   -9.6
1962   -2.7   -4.3  -11.0  -14.2  -19.1  -14.6  -21.7  -23.7  -19.0  -13.4   -5.8   -1.3  -12.6
1963    0.4   -5.4  -11.3  -14.7  -16.6  -16.2  -16.2  -14.7  -13.3  -14.5   -6.0   -1.6  -10.8
1964   -0.3   -3.7  -10.3  -15.2  -18.6  -13.8  -15.2  -14.5  -20.6  -14.1   -4.1    0.7  -10.8
1965    0.2   -2.7  -10.9  -15.8  -12.9  -21.2  -21.7  -17.8  -20.1  -13.1   -7.4   -0.2  -12.0
1966   -0.6   -3.4   -7.6  -17.7  -13.0  -18.3  -14.2  -22.4  -15.5  -13.6   -5.6   -0.2  -11.0
1967    1.5   -5.0   -8.5  -13.5  -14.6  -16.8  -16.3  -21.7  -16.3  -13.8   -4.4    0.4  -10.8
1968   -0.3   -4.6   -9.7  -12.1  -14.7  -18.1  -20.2  -19.5  -18.5  -12.0   -5.7   -0.9  -11.4
1969    0.2   -4.2   -9.5  -14.0  -16.3  -16.0  -19.7  -21.2  -18.6  -12.0   -6.1   -0.5  -11.5
1970   -0.5   -5.7   -8.0  -13.1  -15.3  -19.7  -17.2  -19.6  -15.7  -12.4   -5.4    0.3  -11.0
1971    1.1   -3.3  -10.4  -14.9  -15.3  -17.2  -18.2  -16.6  -15.8  -12.0   -6.4    0.7  -10.7
1972    1.8   -3.8   -9.8  -11.8  -18.8  -16.5  -16.9  -14.1  -16.0  -14.6   -6.0   -0.4  -10.6
1973    0.8   -4.8  -12.0  -14.1  -13.6  -15.4  -21.7  -21.3  -12.7  -11.4   -4.4   -1.6  -11.0
1974    0.9   -4.3  -11.5  -13.5  -18.8  -13.8  -17.8  -15.0  -18.6   -9.4   -3.8    0.8  -10.4
1975    1.5   -4.8  -10.6  -14.8  -13.9  -14.6  -20.3  -20.5  -18.6  -13.6   -3.8    0.1  -11.2
1976    1.3   -4.0  -11.2  -14.9  -20.5  -17.7  -17.1  -22.4  -20.7  -10.6   -5.0    2.0  -11.7
1977    2.5   -3.5  -11.4  -15.7  -15.1  -14.5  -14.5  -14.7  -19.1  -14.6   -7.3   -0.4  -10.7
1978   -0.7   -4.2   -9.2  -13.1  -14.9  -15.8  -16.0  -23.2  -17.3  -15.4   -4.5    0.0  -11.2
1979   -0.6   -5.8  -11.8  -13.6  -18.7  -18.4  -22.1  -19.8  -16.2  -12.6   -4.9    0.6  -12.0
1980    0.2   -4.7   -8.7  -12.1  -20.4  -20.4  -14.2  -18.9  -14.3  -14.6   -2.7    0.1  -10.9
1981   -0.1   -3.9   -8.8  -17.5  -17.7  -18.8  -17.7  -14.1  -17.5  -15.1   -5.5   -0.7  -11.4
1982   -0.3   -5.2  -12.8  -19.1  -18.5  -23.3  -18.2  -24.1  -23.0  -12.7   -4.2    1.0  -13.4
1983    0.9   -3.9  -11.7  -12.7  -15.2  -19.2  -21.7  -16.5  -14.2  -12.9   -8.5   -1.8  -11.5
1984    1.0   -4.8  -10.8  -15.2  -14.8  -19.3  -21.0  -16.7  -15.3  -16.5   -5.6    0.3  -11.6
1985    0.6   -5.0  -10.1  -13.5  -17.3  -14.3  -24.0  -19.7  -18.3  -14.3   -7.6   -1.7  -12.1
1986   -1.0   -1.1   -8.9  -15.6  -14.1  -20.0  -19.7  -20.0  -16.3  -11.3   -6.1   -0.8  -11.2
1987    0.9   -4.0   -9.8  -15.6  -18.7  -15.3  -16.0  -21.7  -19.7  -13.4   -5.8   -0.1  -11.6
1988    0.7   -5.4   -6.8  -15.3  -14.4  -14.7  -17.8  -15.8  -15.2  -10.1   -6.7   -1.5  -10.2
1989    0.0   -3.9  -11.2  -16.7  -21.5  -17.2  -18.7  -14.7  -14.5  -10.5   -6.9    1.2  -11.2
1990    1.0   -4.4  -10.0  -10.6  -14.0  -16.8  -16.7  -20.1  -19.0  -12.3   -4.8   -0.1  -10.7
1991   -0.7   -2.8   -7.8  -10.1  -15.5  -13.8  -13.3  -16.6  -17.5  -13.5   -5.7    1.4   -9.7
1992    0.9   -2.2   -9.5  -15.3  -16.3  -17.3  -19.5  -18.4  -21.4  -12.0   -5.4   -2.2  -11.5
1993    0.8   -4.1  -11.2  -16.9  -19.5  -19.1  -22.0  -22.3  -19.5  -12.9   -7.0   -1.8  -13.0
1994   -1.1   -5.1  -11.5  -15.9  -20.8  -12.1  -15.7  -20.6  -14.8  -12.0   -6.3   -1.7  -11.5
1995   -2.3   -4.8   -9.9  -12.1  -16.9  -18.7   -8.9  -20.6  -17.7  -14.0   -5.9   -0.6  -11.0
1996    0.1   -3.2  -10.0  -15.2  -21.5  -15.1  -18.4  -14.0  -13.9  -12.4   -4.7   -0.5  -10.7
1997   -0.8   -4.2   -8.4  -15.6  -19.2  -15.3  -19.3  -18.6  -19.9  -13.4   -4.9   -0.7  -11.7
1998   -0.6   -4.4  -11.2  -19.2  -18.1  -15.2  -18.6  -16.5  -17.6  -14.2   -4.9   -1.0  -11.8
1999   -1.1   -4.7   -9.6  -16.8  -18.3  -14.6  -19.5  -19.1  -17.6  -13.5   -6.4   -2.4  -12.0  
2000   -1.2   -5.9  -10.6  -11.1  -18.2  -15.1  -18.2  -16.4  -15.4  -16.2   -4.3   -0.4  -11.1
2001    0.1   -4.0  -10.1  -16.0  -14.8  -16.4  -16.8  -20.9  -18.4  -12.4   -5.2   -1.3  -11.3
2002   -0.1   -5.1   -8.8  -13.2  -11.7  -15.1  -16.6  -20.6  -15.7  -11.4   -6.0   -1.4  -10.5
2003    0.3   -1.6   -9.2  -16.2  -17.7  -15.8  -18.4  -19.3  -15.9  -13.3   -6.5    0.1  -11.1
2004    0.4   -2.8  -10.4  -15.8  -15.4  -19.3  -20.5  -17.0  -20.0  -11.6   -5.1    0.5  -11.4
2005    0.4   -4.7   -8.0  -15.6  -18.9  -14.0  -18.5  -18.7  -16.2  -12.5   -6.9    1.0  -11.0
2006   -0.1   -5.2  -10.0  -12.4  -18.3  -15.9  -21.4  -15.9  -16.1  -13.8   -5.3   -1.7  -11.3
2007   -0.1   -4.4  -10.4  -11.9   -9.9  -14.6  -13.9  -15.9  -18.1  -12.2   -4.2   -2.0   -9.8
2008   -1.7   -4.9  -10.6  -12.7  -14.2  -20.4  -15.9  -21.6  -18.5  -15.4   -5.4   -0.6  -11.8
2009   -0.8   -3.9   -9.5  -15.8  -13.8  -13.6  -13.7  -19.7  -15.0  -12.1   -5.3   -1.1  -10.4
2010    0.9   -3.4   -9.4  -15.8  -16.6  -18.1  -21.4  -20.5  -13.1  -13.3   -7.0   -1.4  -11.6
2011    0.1   -5.8   -9.1  -14.3  -16.4  -15.1  -14.0  -16.5  -16.1  -15.3   -5.3   -1.8  -10.8
2012   -1.4   -4.6  -11.8  -14.4  -18.1  -16.8  -20.8  -19.6  -18.9  -11.5   -4.7

4. Links

The Mawson station home page.


The Australian Antarctic Division home page.


The Australian Bureau of Meteorology home page.


The latest synoptic report from Mawson station.



This web page was written to look good in MS Explorer 5.0+ using character entity references from HTML 4.0. Apologies if it doesn't quite work for you — anyway the data should be OK. Comments should be addressed to Dr Gareth Marshall at gjma@pcmail.nbs.ac.uk.

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