Atmospheric and oceanic influence on mass balance of northern north atlantic region land‐terminating glaciers

Abstract

In this study, observed annual mass‐balance data series from 1970 to 2009 for 29 land‐terminating glaciers and ice caps in the northern orth tlantic region are presented to highlight their spatio‐temporal variability. The glaciers and ice caps mass‐balance data are compared with various zonal latitude bands of regional near‐surface air temperature time series, large‐scale atmospheric and oceanic circulation indices, as well as with orth celandic sea‐surface temperature records, since variations in mass‐balance conditions are related both to variations in surface weather conditions and to atmospheric and oceanic circulations. The purpose is to explore statistical and physical relations based on the hypothesis that the general atmospheric and sea‐surface warming trends are potential drivers of the ongoing regional glaciers and ice caps mass change. Our analysis shows that the mean observed northern orth tlantic glaciers and ice caps annual mass balance was mostly negative during the first decade of the twenty‐first century, with a variability in glaciers and ice caps loss from c. 860 mm water equivalent yr–1 for outheast reenland and celand to c. 380 mm water equivalent yr–1 for valbard and candinavia. For celand and candinavia, variations in the orth tlantic oscillation seem to be important for mass‐balance conditions, whereas overall for the entire northern orth tlantic region the mass‐balance time series was significantly correlated with both 's oddard nstitute for Space Studies regional near‐surface air temperature and tlantic multidecadal oscillation time series, individually.