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Atmospheric Circulation and Variations in Scandinavian Glacier Mass Balance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Veijo Allan Pohjola  and
Jeffrey C. Rogers
Veijo Allan Pohjola
Affiliation:
Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 43210-1002
Jeffrey C. Rogers
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 43210-1361
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Abstract

Mountain glaciers in Scandinavia are currently advancing while most of the monitored mountain glaciers of the world are retreating. We examine atmospheric circulation variability and compare changes in air pressure indices to changes in the mass balance of glaciers in the northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean. The glacier mass balance correlates well with the strength of maritime flow in both winter and summer, the presence of high pressure over the Barents Sea being a critical factor in summer. The advance of Scandinavian glaciers is due partly to persistently strong westerlies over the northeastern Atlantic during post-1980 winters and partly to cold summertime flow, which together have helped maintain positive glacier net balance by decreasing ablation since 1980.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 47 , Issue 1 , January 1997 , pp. 29 - 36
Copyright
University of Washington

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