Greenland ice sheet; surface melt; circulation type classification
Abstract :
[en] 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.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Fettweis, Xavier ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Topoclimatologie
Mabille, Georges; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Topoclimatologie
Erpicum, Michel ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Topoclimatologie
Nicolay, Samuel ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de mathématique > Analyse - Analyse fonctionnelle - Ondelettes
Van den Broeke, Michiel; Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Language :
English
Title :
The 1958–2009 Greenland ice sheet surface melt and the mid-tropospheric atmospheric circulation
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