Abstract
Abstract. The surface temperature of the Greenland ice sheet is among the most important climate variables for assessing how climate change may impact human societies due to its association with sea level rise. However, the causes of multidecadal-to-centennial temperature changes in Greenland temperatures are not well understood, largely owing to short observational records. To examine these, we calculated the Greenland temperature anomalies (GTA[G-NH]) over the past 800 yr by subtracting the standardized northern hemispheric (NH) temperature from the standardized Greenland temperature. This decomposes the Greenland temperature variation into background climate (NH); polar amplification; and regional variability (GTA[G-NH]). The central Greenland polar amplification factor as expressed by the variance ratio Greenland/NH is 2.6 over the past 161 yr, and 3.3–4.2 over the past 800 yr. The GTA[G-NH] explains 31–35% of the variation of Greenland temperature in the multidecadal-to-centennial time scale over the past 800 yr. We found that the GTA[G-NH] has been influenced by solar-induced changes in atmospheric circulation patterns such as those produced by the North Atlantic Oscillation/Arctic Oscillation (NAO/AO). Climate modeling and proxy temperature records indicate that the anomaly is also likely linked to solar-paced changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and associated changes in northward oceanic heat transport.
Highlights
Ocean ScienceThe surface air temperature over Greenland is known to be affected by drivers such as large volcanic eruptions, changes in solar output, or anthropogenic forcings and by variability patterns such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and/or the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) (Hurrell, 1995; Hanna and Cappelen, 2003; VSinothliedr eEt aal.,rt2h003; Box et al., 2009)
The surface air temperature over Greenland is known to be affected by drivers such as large volcanic eruptions, changes in solar output, or anthropogenic forcings and by variability patterns such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and/or the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) (Hurrell, 1995; Hanna and Cappelen, 2003; VSinothliedr eEt aal.,rt2h003; Box et al, 2009)
Over the past 800 yr, Greenland temperature variability was dominated by background climate changes at the northern hemispheric scale, and these changes are known to be largely the result of solar and volcanic forcing prior to 1850 (Crowley, 2000)
Summary
The surface air temperature over Greenland is known to be affected by drivers such as large volcanic eruptions, changes in solar output, or anthropogenic forcings and by variability patterns such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and/or the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) (Hurrell, 1995; Hanna and Cappelen, 2003; VSinothliedr eEt aal.,rt2h003; Box et al., 2009) These regional variations have caused Greenland temperature to depart from the baseline trend defined by the average northern hemispheric (NH) temperatures (Box et al, 2009). We note that the inferences investigated in this paper were further tested and developed in a companion paper (Kobashi et al, 2012) dealing with the past 4000 yr of Greenland temperature record (Kobashi et al, 2011)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
