Coast-to-interior gradient in recent northwest Greenland precipitation trends (1952–2012)
The spatial and temporal variability of precipitation on the Greenland ice sheet is an essential component of surface mass balance, which has been declining in recent years with rising temperatures. We present an analysis of precipitation trends in northwest (NW) Greenland (1952–2012) using instrume...
Published in: | Environmental Research Letters |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
IOP Publishing
2015
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114008 https://doaj.org/article/05a8fcb5c14441e1abebb901807f4b18 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:05a8fcb5c14441e1abebb901807f4b18 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:05a8fcb5c14441e1abebb901807f4b18 2023-09-05T13:19:41+02:00 Coast-to-interior gradient in recent northwest Greenland precipitation trends (1952–2012) G J Wong E C Osterberg R L Hawley Z R Courville D G Ferris J A Howley 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114008 https://doaj.org/article/05a8fcb5c14441e1abebb901807f4b18 EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114008 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114008 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/05a8fcb5c14441e1abebb901807f4b18 Environmental Research Letters, Vol 10, Iss 11, p 114008 (2015) Greenland climate precipitation ice sheet weather station ice core Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114008 2023-08-13T00:37:50Z The spatial and temporal variability of precipitation on the Greenland ice sheet is an essential component of surface mass balance, which has been declining in recent years with rising temperatures. We present an analysis of precipitation trends in northwest (NW) Greenland (1952–2012) using instrumental (coastal meteorological station) and proxy records (snow pits and ice cores) to characterize the precipitation gradient from the coast to the ice sheet interior. Snow-pit-derived precipitation near the coast (1950–2000) has increased (∼7% decade ^−1 , p < 0.01) whereas there is no significant change observed in interior snow pits. This trend holds for 1981–2012, where calculated precipitation changes decrease in magnitude with increasing distance from the coast: 13% decade ^−1 (2.4 mm water equivalent (w.e.) decade ^−2 ) at coastal Thule air base (AB), 8.6% decade ^−1 (4.7 mm w.e. decade ^−2 ) at the 2Barrel ice core site 150 km from Thule AB, −5.2% decade ^−1 (1.7 mm w.e. decade ^−2 ) at Camp Century located 205 km from Thule AB, and 4.4% decade ^−1 (1.0 mm w.e. decade ^−2 ) at B26 located 500 km from Thule AB. In general, annually averaged precipitation and annually and seasonally averaged mean air temperatures observed at Thule AB follow trends observed in composite coastal Greenland time series, with both notably indicating winter as the fastest warming season in recent periods (1981–2012). Trends (1961–2012) in seasonal precipitation differ, specifically with NW Greenland summer precipitation increasing (∼0.6 mm w.e. decade ^−2 ) in contrast with decreasing summer precipitation in the coastal composite time series (3.8 mm w.e. decade ^−2 ). Differences in precipitation trends between NW Greenland and coastal composite Greenland underscore the heterogeneity in climate influences affecting precipitation. In particular, recent (1981–2012) changes in NW Greenland annual precipitation are likely a response to a weakening North Atlantic oscillation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland ice core Ice Sheet North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Thule Air Thule Air Base Thule Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Thule Air Base ENVELOPE(-68.703,-68.703,76.531,76.531) Environmental Research Letters 10 11 114008 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Greenland climate precipitation ice sheet weather station ice core Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
Greenland climate precipitation ice sheet weather station ice core Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 G J Wong E C Osterberg R L Hawley Z R Courville D G Ferris J A Howley Coast-to-interior gradient in recent northwest Greenland precipitation trends (1952–2012) |
topic_facet |
Greenland climate precipitation ice sheet weather station ice core Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
The spatial and temporal variability of precipitation on the Greenland ice sheet is an essential component of surface mass balance, which has been declining in recent years with rising temperatures. We present an analysis of precipitation trends in northwest (NW) Greenland (1952–2012) using instrumental (coastal meteorological station) and proxy records (snow pits and ice cores) to characterize the precipitation gradient from the coast to the ice sheet interior. Snow-pit-derived precipitation near the coast (1950–2000) has increased (∼7% decade ^−1 , p < 0.01) whereas there is no significant change observed in interior snow pits. This trend holds for 1981–2012, where calculated precipitation changes decrease in magnitude with increasing distance from the coast: 13% decade ^−1 (2.4 mm water equivalent (w.e.) decade ^−2 ) at coastal Thule air base (AB), 8.6% decade ^−1 (4.7 mm w.e. decade ^−2 ) at the 2Barrel ice core site 150 km from Thule AB, −5.2% decade ^−1 (1.7 mm w.e. decade ^−2 ) at Camp Century located 205 km from Thule AB, and 4.4% decade ^−1 (1.0 mm w.e. decade ^−2 ) at B26 located 500 km from Thule AB. In general, annually averaged precipitation and annually and seasonally averaged mean air temperatures observed at Thule AB follow trends observed in composite coastal Greenland time series, with both notably indicating winter as the fastest warming season in recent periods (1981–2012). Trends (1961–2012) in seasonal precipitation differ, specifically with NW Greenland summer precipitation increasing (∼0.6 mm w.e. decade ^−2 ) in contrast with decreasing summer precipitation in the coastal composite time series (3.8 mm w.e. decade ^−2 ). Differences in precipitation trends between NW Greenland and coastal composite Greenland underscore the heterogeneity in climate influences affecting precipitation. In particular, recent (1981–2012) changes in NW Greenland annual precipitation are likely a response to a weakening North Atlantic oscillation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
G J Wong E C Osterberg R L Hawley Z R Courville D G Ferris J A Howley |
author_facet |
G J Wong E C Osterberg R L Hawley Z R Courville D G Ferris J A Howley |
author_sort |
G J Wong |
title |
Coast-to-interior gradient in recent northwest Greenland precipitation trends (1952–2012) |
title_short |
Coast-to-interior gradient in recent northwest Greenland precipitation trends (1952–2012) |
title_full |
Coast-to-interior gradient in recent northwest Greenland precipitation trends (1952–2012) |
title_fullStr |
Coast-to-interior gradient in recent northwest Greenland precipitation trends (1952–2012) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Coast-to-interior gradient in recent northwest Greenland precipitation trends (1952–2012) |
title_sort |
coast-to-interior gradient in recent northwest greenland precipitation trends (1952–2012) |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114008 https://doaj.org/article/05a8fcb5c14441e1abebb901807f4b18 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-68.703,-68.703,76.531,76.531) |
geographic |
Greenland Thule Air Base |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Thule Air Base |
genre |
Greenland ice core Ice Sheet North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Thule Air Thule Air Base Thule |
genre_facet |
Greenland ice core Ice Sheet North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Thule Air Thule Air Base Thule |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 10, Iss 11, p 114008 (2015) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114008 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114008 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/05a8fcb5c14441e1abebb901807f4b18 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114008 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
114008 |
_version_ |
1776200504105238528 |