The Little Ice Age glacier maximum in Iceland and the North Atlantic Oscillation: evidence from Lambatungnajökull, southeast Iceland

Abstract. An annual-resolved precipitation reconstruction for the last 800 yr in Southern Spain has been performed using stable carbon isotope (δ13C) of Pinus nigra tree rings. The reconstruction exhibits high- to low-frequency variability and distinguishes a Little Ice Age (LIA, AD 1350–1850) characterized by lower averaged rainfall than both in the transition from the Medieval Climate Anomaly to the LIA and in the 20th century. The driest conditions are recorded during the Maunder solar Minimum (mid 17th–early 18th centuries), in good agreement with the Spanish documentary archive. Similar linkage between solar activity (maximum/minimum) and precipitation (increase/decrease) is observed throughout the entire LIA. Additionally, the relationship between the hydrological pattern in the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco during the LIA suggests different spatial distribution of precipitation in the south-eastern sector of the North Atlantic region such as it is known currently. Whereas in the instrumental record the precipitation evolves similarly in both regions and opposite to the North Atlantic oscillation (NAO) index, the coldest periods of the LIA shows a contrasting pattern with drier conditions in the South of Spain and wetter in Northern Africa. We suggest an extreme negative NAO conditions, accompanied by a southward excursion of the winter rainfall band beyond that observed in the last century, can explain this contrast. The sustained NAO conditions could have been triggered by solar minima and higher volcanic activity during the LIA.

Download Full-text

A revised chronology of key Vatnajökull (Iceland) outlet glaciers during the Little Ice Age

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/172756405781812817 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

pp. 171-179 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Krista M. McKinzey ◽

John F. Orwin ◽

Tom Bradwell

Keyword(s):

19Th Century ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Little Ice Age ◽

Ice Age ◽

Early 19Th Century ◽

The North ◽

Climate Interactions ◽

Tephra Layers ◽

The North Atlantic ◽

The North Atlantic Oscillation

AbstractGlacier fluctuations from key Vatnajökull outlets have been redated using tephrochronology coupled with two lichenometric techniques to ascertain the timing of the Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum in southeast Iceland. An updated tephrochronology for southeast Iceland (both the number of tephra layers present and their geochemical signatures) indicates a LIA maximum for both glaciers between AD 1755 and 1873. Based on a population gradient approach, lichenometrically dated moraines along the margins of Skálafellsjökull and Heinabergsjökull narrow this window to the early to mid-19th century respectively. These revised chronologies, in addition to emerging evidence from elsewhere in Iceland, support a late 18th- to early 19th-century LIA glacier maximum. In contrast, the Norwegian LIA glacial maximum is strongly centred around AD1750. This implies differing glaciological responses to secular shifts in the North Atlantic Oscillation. Such revisions to the Vatnajökull record are crucial, as accurately identifying the timing and delimiting the spatial extent of the Icelandic LIA glacier maximum will allow further light to be shed on glacier–climate interactions in the North Atlantic.

Download Full-text

The North Atlantic Oscillation in the Atlantic-European SLP

Tellus A Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography ◽

10.3402/tellusa.v42i5.11893 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 42 (5) ◽

pp. 497-507 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Rita Glowienka-Hense

Keyword(s):

North Atlantic Oscillation ◽

North Atlantic ◽

The North ◽

The North Atlantic ◽

The North Atlantic Oscillation

Download Full-text

Influence of the North Atlantic oscillation on the atmospheric levels of benzo[a]pyrene over Europe

Climate Dynamics ◽

10.1007/s00382-021-05766-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Pedro Jiménez-Guerrero ◽

Nuno Ratola

Keyword(s):

Spatial Pattern ◽

North Atlantic Oscillation ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Transport Model ◽

Regional Scale ◽

The South ◽

Climatic Fluctuations ◽

The North ◽

The North Atlantic ◽

The North Atlantic Oscillation

AbstractThe atmospheric concentration of persistent organic pollutants (and of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, in particular) is closely related to climate change and climatic fluctuations, which are likely to influence contaminant’s transport pathways and transfer processes. Predicting how climate variability alters PAHs concentrations in the atmosphere still poses an exceptional challenge. In this sense, the main objective of this contribution is to assess the relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and the mean concentration of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP, the most studied PAH congener) in a domain covering Europe, with an emphasis on the effect of regional-scale processes. A numerical simulation for a present climate period of 30 years was performed using a regional chemistry transport model with a 25 km spatial resolution (horizontal), higher than those commonly applied. The results show an important seasonal behaviour, with a remarkable spatial pattern of difference between the north and the south of the domain. In winter, higher BaP ground levels are found during the NAO+ phase for the Mediterranean basin, while the spatial pattern of this feature (higher BaP levels during NAO+ phases) moves northwards in summer. These results show deviations up to and sometimes over 100% in the BaP mean concentrations, but statistically significant signals (p<0.1) of lower changes (20–40% variations in the signal) are found for the north of the domain in winter and for the south in summer.

Download Full-text