The 1958–2009 Greenland ice sheet surface melt and the mid-tropospheric atmospheric circulation

peer reviewed In order to assess the impact of the mid-tropospheric circulation over the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) on surface melt, as simulated by the regional climate model MAR, an automatic Circulation type classification (CTC) based on 500 hPa geopotential height from reanalyses is developed. G...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Climate Dynamics
Main Authors: Fettweis, Xavier, Mabille, Georges, Erpicum, Michel, Nicolay, Samuel, Van den Broeke, Michiel
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer Science & Business Media B.V. 2011
Subjects:
Greenland ice sheet
surface melt
circulation type classification
Physical
chemical
mathematical & earth Sciences
Earth sciences & physical geography
Physique
chimie
mathématiques & sciences de la terre
Sciences de la terre & géographie physique
Greenland
Ice Sheet
Online Access:https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/36540
https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/36540/1/Fettweis-Mabille-Erpicum-Nicolay-Van%20den%20Broeke_Clim%20Dyn_Feb2010.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-010-0772-8
Description
Summary:peer reviewed In order to assess the impact of the mid-tropospheric circulation over the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) on surface melt, as simulated by the regional climate model MAR, an automatic Circulation type classification (CTC) based on 500 hPa geopotential height from reanalyses is developed. General circulation correlates significantly with the surface melt anomalies for the summers in the period 1958–2009. The record surface melt events observed during the summers of 2007–2009 are linked to the exceptional persistence of atmospheric circulations favouring warm air advection. The CTC emphasizes that summer 500 hPa circulation patterns have changed since the beginning of the 2000s; this process is partly responsible for the recent warming observed over the GrIS.

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