Title: A high-resolution reconstruction of Storglaciären mass balance back to 1780/81 using tree-ring data and circulation indices
Abstract: Abstract Storglaciären in northernmost Sweden has the world's longest ongoing continuous mass-balance record, starting in 1946. To extend this mass-balance record, we have reconstructed summer ( b S ) and winter ( b W ) mass balances separately back to the mass balance year 1780/81 with annual resolution. We used tree-ring data for b S and a set of circulation indices, based on the sea-level pressure, for b W . Both proxies have correlation coefficients with respective mass balance components of ca. 0.7. The reconstructed net balance ( b N ) of Storglaciären was well correlated to the observations during 1946–1980 ( r = 0.8, p < 0.05). Our reconstruction agrees well with previously obtained results of northern Sweden glacier variability, where the predominantly positive b N years between 1890 and 1910 correspond to the well documented post-Little Ice Age advance of Storglaciären. Furthermore, the results suggest that b S , as a function of summer temperatures, is more important than b W in determining the b N , which is contrary to glaciers in the maritime parts of western Scandinavia. In general, b N has been negative over the last 220 yr, suggesting a predomination of continental conditions over northern Sweden. However, the influence of b W increased in the late twentieth century, indicating a shift to a more oceanic climate regime.
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 22
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot