On the association between Eurasian snow cover and North American winter temperatures

• Main Author: Kutney, Emily
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: uga 2009
• Subjects: Eurasian snow cover; Arctic Oscillation; Pacific North American teleconnection; climate; temperatures; Arctic; Pacific
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10724/25852; http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/kutney_emily_r_200908_ms

The extent of snow cover over Eurasia during autumn has proven influential in shaping atmospheric circulation over the Northern Hemisphere the following winter via the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the Pacific/North American (PNA) teleconnections. Regions of active autumnal Eurasian snow cover were derived from Principal Component Analysis and compared to winter temperatures across North America for 1967-2006 to determine whether significant relationships exist. The score time series of each principal component was then compared to winter averages of the AO and PNA indices in order to identify pathways for the snow-temperature relationship. While most regions of autumn snow cover did not have strong relationships with winter temperatures in North America, the relationship between eastern Russia and the western U.S. was significant, and composite maps of 500hPa heights suggest this relationship may be a result of the phase of the PNA. MS Geography Geography Thomas Mote Thomas Mote Hengchun Ye Andrew Grundstein