A high-resolution reconstruction of Storglaciären mass balance back to 1780/1781 using tree-ring data and circulation indices

• 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 (bS) and winter (bW) mass balances separately back to the mass balance year 1780/81 with annual resolution. We used tree-ring data for bS and a set of circulation indices, based on the sea level pressure, for bW. Both proxies have correlation coefficients with respective mass balance components of ca. 0.7. The reconstructed net balance (bN) 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 bN years between 1890 and 1910 correspond to the well documented post-Little Ice Age advance of Storglaciären. Furthermore, the results suggest that bS, as a function of summer temperatures, is more important than bW in determining the bN, which is contrary to glaciers in the maritime parts of western Scandinavia. In general, bN has been negative over the last 220 yr, suggesting a predomination of continental conditions over northern Sweden. However, the influence of bW increased in the late twentieth century, indicating a shift to a more oceanic climate regime.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Naturgeografi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Physical Geography (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Klimatforskning (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Climate Research (hsv//eng)

Keyword

mass balance reconstructions

tree rings

circulation indices

Storglaciären

northern Sweden

Physical geography

Naturgeografi

Glacier mass balance

Storglaciären

Sweden

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)