Spatially Heterogeneous Effects of Atmospheric Circulation on Greenland Ice Sheet Melting

Abstract

The melting of the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) in summer has rapidly and significantly increased in recent decades, especially for the northern GrIS. Circulation related to GrIS melting is important for understanding the contribution of the GrIS to the global sea level. In this paper, we used the SOM method to obtain three spatial patterns of GrIS melting based on model output data: overall melting, northern melting, and southern melting patterns. We also examined their linkages to the observed atmospheric circulation. GrIS melting is primarily related to Greenland blocking (GB), while different types of GB are responsible for different melting patterns. The overall and northern melting patterns are both associated with high-latitude GB, which is associated with the decay and westward movement of mid-latitude and high-latitude European blocking (EB), respectively. It is found that the generation of mid-latitude and high-latitude EBs are related to mid-latitude eastern North Atlantic warming and Greenland–Norskehavet–North Sea warming, respectively, while the movement of EB is related t upstream weakened zonal wind anomalies. Furthermore, the southern melting pattern is linked to mid-latitude GB, which is associated with the wave train from the East Pacific to Southern Greenland through North America and further related to the mid-latitude of East Pacific warming.

Keywords

• Greenland ice sheet
• Greenland blocking
• European blocking
• wave train
• sea surface temperature