HR: 1340h
AN: C33A-0342    [Abstracts]
TI: Melt Anomalies on the Greenland Ice Sheet and Changing Atmospheric Circulation Patterns in the North Atlantic
AU: * Huff, R D
EM: russell.huff@colorado.edu
AF: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, University of Colorado, University of Colorado CB-216, Boulder, CO 80309-0216 United States
AU: Steffen, K
EM: konrad.steffen@colorado.edu
AF: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, University of Colorado, University of Colorado CB-216, Boulder, CO 80309-0216 United States
AB: This study analyzes the relationship between interannual variability in melt extent on the Greenland ice sheet and changes in atmospheric circulation and cyclone patterns in the northern high latitudes from 1979 to the present. Melt anomalies are computed annually for the ice sheet by calculating the probability of each passive microwave pixel melting as observed given the average melt behavior over the last 25 years (1979-2003) of satellite data. The anomalies are then analyzed using empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis to extract the dominant structures of melt variability as well as cluster analysis to identify specific anomalous melt events. The derived patterns of melt anomalies are then compared with NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data to explore the linkages between observed trends in melt extent and changes in synoptic scale circulation patterns in the North Atlantic. Results indicate significant positive trends and increased variability in melt extent prior to the peak melt expectation indicative of a shift toward larger melt extents earlier in the melt season.
DE: 3360 Remote sensing
DE: 3309 Climatology (1620)
DE: 1610 Atmosphere (0315, 0325)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting