Master Thesis Defense by Weiji Hu

Title: Impact of Greenland’s Summer Ice Melt on the North Atlantic Oscillation

Abstract:
This study investigates the impact of Greenland’s summer ice sheet melt on the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), using a series of data that includes ERA5 climate reanalyses, GRACE satellite observations, ice sheet discharge data, etc. I analyzed the correlations between the mass loss from summer melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and the NAO index in the following 12 months, with a particular emphasis on the November NAO. My findings show the most significant inverse relationship between summer melt volumes and the NAO index in November, indicating a clear impact of Greenland meltwater runoff on the following November NAO. In addition, although analysis of ERA5 sea surface temperature (SST) data found that the summer runoff amount will have an impact on the SST distribution pattern in subsequent months, the impact of Greenland’s summer runoff on the NAO is a complex coupling process. This means further exploration into these critical climatic phenomena is needed

Supervisor: Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen
Censor: Martin Drews, DTU