Greenland’s record summer melt may be linked to shifting jet stream
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029888
Washington Post : In the summer of 2015, Greenland experienced more melting than usual in its colder, northern regions than in its warmer south. Marco Tedesco of Columbia University and his colleagues have now determined that the unusual melting was caused by an atmospheric phenomenon called a “cutoff high.” That’s when a region of high atmospheric pressure “detaches from the jet stream” and lingers over an area on the ground. In this case it brought a string of sunny days and unusual warmth to the north and blew cold air to the south. The new research also appears to affirm the theory that the jet stream is becoming more distorted. How much climate change may be influencing the jet stream and how it all ties in with melting Arctic sea ice remains to be determined.
