The North Atlantic Oscillation and its imprint on precipitation and ice accumulation in Greenland

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Appenzeller, C., Schwander, J., Sommer, S., Stocker, T. F.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Geophysical Union 1998
• Subjects: 530 Physics; Greenland; North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: https://boris.unibe.ch/158788/1/appenzeller98grl.pdf; https://boris.unibe.ch/158788/

Interannual to decadal fluctuations in net precipitation and ice accumulation are examined over Greenland. It is shown that in western Greenland these fluctuations are correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation. The analysis is based on two complementary data sources: A highly resolved net precipitation and accumulation history over 15 years derived form the reanalysis data of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and a composite ice accumulation record representative for the western part of Central Greenland. It is suggested that western Greenland snow accumulation is a good proxy for the NAO index with the potential for the reconstruction of a long time series.