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The Cryosphere
100-year mass changes in the Swiss Alps linked to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation
Article first published online: 22 MAY 2010
DOI: 10.1029/2010GL042616
Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.
Additional Information
How to Cite
, , , and (2010), 100-year mass changes in the Swiss Alps linked to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L10501, doi:10.1029/2010GL042616.
Publication History
- Issue published online: 22 MAY 2010
- Article first published online: 22 MAY 2010
- Manuscript Accepted: 16 APR 2010
- Manuscript Revised: 24 FEB 2010
- Manuscript Received: 20 JAN 2010
Keywords:
- glacier mass balance;
- climate change;
- Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation
[1] Thirty new 100-year records of glacier surface mass balance, accumulation and melt in the Swiss Alps are presented. The time series are based on a comprehensive set of field data and distributed modeling and provide insights into the glacier-climate linkage. Considerable mass loss over the 20th century is evident for all glaciers, but rates differ strongly. Glacier mass loss shows multidecadal variations and was particularly rapid in the 1940s and since the 1980s. Mass balance is significantly anticorrelated to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) index assumed to be linked to thermohaline ocean circulation. We show that North Atlantic variability had a recognizable impact on glacier changes in the Swiss Alps for at least 250 years.