The impact of Greenland's deglaciation on the Arctic circulation


Contact
dethloff [ at ] awi-potsdam.de

Abstract

The influence of Greenland's deglaciation on the atmospheric winter and summer circulation of the Arctic have been quantified with the high resolution regional atmospheric model HIRHAM4. Greenland's deglaciation exerts a pronounced influence on the atmospheric winter circulation of the Arctic. The land areas over Siberia and the Canadian archipelago are warmed by up to 5C. Parts of the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean are cooled by up to 3C. A north-eastward shift of the storm tracks occurs over the North Atlantic as well as an increase of synoptic activity over Alaska. The pronounced P-E changes connected with shifts in the synoptic storm tracks during winter would have important consequences for the atmospheric freshwater input into the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic sea with the potential to cause variability in the Arctic Ocean dynamics on centennial to millennial time scales. The significant differences between simulations with and without Greenland result in a decrease of the geopotential height and a dominant barotropic response of the Arctic atmosphere. These changes correspond to an enhanced winter polar vortex and stratospheric conditions more favorable for large Arctic ozone losses.



Item Type
Article
Authors
Divisions
Programs
Publication Status
Published
Eprint ID
10501
DOI 10.1029/2004GL020714

Cite as
Dethloff, K. , Dorn, W. , Rinke, A. , Fraedrich, K. , Junge, M. , Roeckner, E. , Gayler, V. , Cubasch, U. and Christensen, J. H. (2004): The impact of Greenland's deglaciation on the Arctic circulation , Geophysical research letters, Vol. 31, L19201 . doi: 10.1029/2004GL020714


Share
Add to AnyAdd to TwitterAdd to FacebookAdd to LinkedinAdd to PinterestAdd to Email


Citation

Research Platforms
N/A

Campaigns
N/A


Actions
Edit Item Edit Item