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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 30, NO. 3, 1132, doi:10.1029/2002GL015797, 2003

Recent cooling in coastal southern Greenland and relation with the North Atlantic Oscillation

Edward Hanna

Institute of Marine Studies, University of Plymouth, UK


John Cappelen

Danish Meteorological Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark


Abstract

Analysis of new data for eight stations in coastal southern Greenland, 1958–2001, shows a significant cooling (trend-line change −1.29°C for the 44 years), as do sea-surface temperatures in the adjacent part of the Labrador Sea, in contrast to global warming (+0.53°C over the same period). The land and sea temperature series follow similar patterns and are strongly correlated but with no obvious lead/lag either way. This cooling is significantly inversely correlated with an increased phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) over the past few decades (r = −0.76), and will probably have significantly affected the mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Published 12 February 2003.

Index Terms: 3309 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Climatology (1620); 3319 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: General circulation; 3349 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Polar meteorology; 1610 Global Change: Atmosphere (0315, 0325); 1827 Hydrology: Glaciology (1863).

Subscriber Access to Full Article (Nonsubscribers may purchase for $9.00, Includes print PDF, file size: 112998 bytes)

Citation: Hanna, E., and J. Cappelen (2003), Recent cooling in coastal southern Greenland and relation with the North Atlantic Oscillation, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(3), 1132, doi:10.1029/2002GL015797.