Oxygen Isotopes in Tree Rings from Greenland: A New Proxy of NAO

• Published in: Atmosphere
• Main Authors: Chenxi Xu, Brendan M. Buckley, Shih-Yu Simon Wang, Wenling An, Zhen Li, Takeshi Nakatsuka, Zhengtang Guo
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020
• Subjects: tree ring δ 18 O; ice core δ 18 O; greenland; North Atlantic Oscillation; Greenland; greenlandic; ice core; North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12010039

We present the first Greenlandic tree ring oxygen isotope record (δ18OGTR), derived from four birch trees collected from the Qinguadalen Valley in southwestern Greenland in 1999. Our δ18O record spans from 1950–1999 and is significantly and positively correlated with winter ice core δ18O from southern Greenland. δ18OGTR records are positively correlated with southwestern Greenland January–August mean temperatures. North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) reconstructions have been developed from a variety of proxies, but never with Greenlandic tree rings, and our δ18OGTR record is significantly correlated with NAO (r = −0.64), and spatial correlations with sea-level pressure indicate a classic NAO pressure seesaw pattern. These results may facilitate a longer NAO reconstruction based on long time series of tree ring δ18O records from Greenland, provided that subfossil wood can be found in areas vacated by melting glaciers.