North Atlantic Oscillation seesaw effect in leaf morphological records from dwarf birch shrubs in Greenland and Finland
The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) determines wind speed and direction, seasonal heat, moisture transport, storm tracks, cloudiness and sea-ice cover through atmospheric mass balance shifts between the Arctic and the subtropical Atlantic. The NAO is characterized by the typical, yet insufficiently...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2021
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2392dcb4b168448b8f4e974e7956e17d 2023-05-15T14:51:06+02:00 North Atlantic Oscillation seesaw effect in leaf morphological records from dwarf birch shrubs in Greenland and Finland Fabian E.Z. Ercan Daan Blok Stef Weijers Astrid Odé Friederike Wagner-Cremer 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v40.7709 https://doaj.org/article/2392dcb4b168448b8f4e974e7956e17d EN eng Norwegian Polar Institute https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/7709/14142 https://doaj.org/toc/0800-0395 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v40.7709 https://doaj.org/article/2392dcb4b168448b8f4e974e7956e17d Polar Research, Vol 40, Pp 1-11 (2021) palaeoecology betula nana epidermal cell morphology climate arctic herbarium Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v40.7709 2022-12-31T09:42:59Z The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) determines wind speed and direction, seasonal heat, moisture transport, storm tracks, cloudiness and sea-ice cover through atmospheric mass balance shifts between the Arctic and the subtropical Atlantic. The NAO is characterized by the typical, yet insufficiently understood, seesaw pattern of warmer winter and spring temperatures over Scandinavia and cooler temperatures over Greenland during the positive phase of the NAO, and vice versa during the negative phase. We tested the potential to reconstruct NAO variation beyond the meteorological record through the application of a microphenological proxy. We measured the Undulation Index (UI) in Betula nana epidermal cells from herbarium leaf samples and fossil peat fragments dating back to 1865—exceeding most meteorological records in the Arctic—to estimate imprints of spring thermal properties and NAO in Greenland and Finland. We found negative relations between Greenland UI and late winter, spring and early summer NAO, and mostly positive, but not significant, relations between Finland UI and NAO in years with pronounced NAO expression. The direction of the UI response in this common circumpolar species is, therefore, likely in line with the NAO seesaw effect, with leaf development response to NAO fluctuations in northern Europe opposing the response in Greenland and vice versa. Increased knowledge of the UI response to climate may contribute to understanding ecological properties of key Arctic species, whilst additionally providing a proxy for NAO dynamics. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Betula nana Dwarf birch Greenland North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Polar Research Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Greenland Polar Research 40 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
palaeoecology betula nana epidermal cell morphology climate arctic herbarium Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
palaeoecology betula nana epidermal cell morphology climate arctic herbarium Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 Fabian E.Z. Ercan Daan Blok Stef Weijers Astrid Odé Friederike Wagner-Cremer North Atlantic Oscillation seesaw effect in leaf morphological records from dwarf birch shrubs in Greenland and Finland |
topic_facet |
palaeoecology betula nana epidermal cell morphology climate arctic herbarium Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) determines wind speed and direction, seasonal heat, moisture transport, storm tracks, cloudiness and sea-ice cover through atmospheric mass balance shifts between the Arctic and the subtropical Atlantic. The NAO is characterized by the typical, yet insufficiently understood, seesaw pattern of warmer winter and spring temperatures over Scandinavia and cooler temperatures over Greenland during the positive phase of the NAO, and vice versa during the negative phase. We tested the potential to reconstruct NAO variation beyond the meteorological record through the application of a microphenological proxy. We measured the Undulation Index (UI) in Betula nana epidermal cells from herbarium leaf samples and fossil peat fragments dating back to 1865—exceeding most meteorological records in the Arctic—to estimate imprints of spring thermal properties and NAO in Greenland and Finland. We found negative relations between Greenland UI and late winter, spring and early summer NAO, and mostly positive, but not significant, relations between Finland UI and NAO in years with pronounced NAO expression. The direction of the UI response in this common circumpolar species is, therefore, likely in line with the NAO seesaw effect, with leaf development response to NAO fluctuations in northern Europe opposing the response in Greenland and vice versa. Increased knowledge of the UI response to climate may contribute to understanding ecological properties of key Arctic species, whilst additionally providing a proxy for NAO dynamics. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fabian E.Z. Ercan Daan Blok Stef Weijers Astrid Odé Friederike Wagner-Cremer |
author_facet |
Fabian E.Z. Ercan Daan Blok Stef Weijers Astrid Odé Friederike Wagner-Cremer |
author_sort |
Fabian E.Z. Ercan |
title |
North Atlantic Oscillation seesaw effect in leaf morphological records from dwarf birch shrubs in Greenland and Finland |
title_short |
North Atlantic Oscillation seesaw effect in leaf morphological records from dwarf birch shrubs in Greenland and Finland |
title_full |
North Atlantic Oscillation seesaw effect in leaf morphological records from dwarf birch shrubs in Greenland and Finland |
title_fullStr |
North Atlantic Oscillation seesaw effect in leaf morphological records from dwarf birch shrubs in Greenland and Finland |
title_full_unstemmed |
North Atlantic Oscillation seesaw effect in leaf morphological records from dwarf birch shrubs in Greenland and Finland |
title_sort |
north atlantic oscillation seesaw effect in leaf morphological records from dwarf birch shrubs in greenland and finland |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v40.7709 https://doaj.org/article/2392dcb4b168448b8f4e974e7956e17d |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Betula nana Dwarf birch Greenland North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Polar Research Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Betula nana Dwarf birch Greenland North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Polar Research Sea ice |
op_source |
Polar Research, Vol 40, Pp 1-11 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/7709/14142 https://doaj.org/toc/0800-0395 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v40.7709 https://doaj.org/article/2392dcb4b168448b8f4e974e7956e17d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v40.7709 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
40 |
_version_ |
1766322163418136576 |