THE NORTH-ATLANTIC OSCILLATION AND ITS IMPRINT ON PRECIPITATION AND ICE ACCUMULATION IN GREENLAND

Interannual to decadal fluctuations in net precipitation and ice accum ulation are examined over Greenland. It is shown that in western Green land these fluctuations are correlated with the North Atlantic Oscilla tion. The analysis is based on two complementary data sources: A highl y resolved net precipitation and accumulation history over 15 years de rived form the reanalysis data of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and a composite ice accumulation record representat ive for the western part of Central Greenland. It is suggested that we stern Greenland snow accumulation is a good proxy for the NAO index wi th the potential for the reconstruction of a long time series.