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Atlantic influence on spring snowfall over the Alps in the past 150 years
Language
English
Obiettivo Specifico
3.7. Dinamica del clima e dell'oceano
Status
Published
JCR Journal
JCR Journal
Peer review journal
Yes
Title of the book
Issue/vol(year)
/8 (2013)
ISSN
1748-9326
Pages (printed)
034026 (7pp)
Issued date
August 2013
Abstract
Global warming is believed to be responsible for the reduction of snow amount and duration over the Alps. In fact, a rapid shortening of the snowy season has been measured and perceived by ecosystems and society in the past 30 years, despite the large year-to-year variability. This trend is projected to continue during the 21st century in the climate change scenarios with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Superimposed on the long-term trend, however, there is a low-frequency variability of snowfall associated with multi-decadal changes in the large-scale circulation. The amplitude of this natural low-frequency variation might be relatively large, determining rapid and substantial changes of snowfall, as recently observed. This is already known for winter snowfall over the Alps in connection with the recent tendency toward the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation. In this study, we show that the low-frequency variability of Alpine spring snowfall in the past 150 years is affected by the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO), which is a natural periodic fluctuation of Northern Atlantic sea surface temperature. Therefore, the recently observed spring snowfall reduction might be, at least in part, explained by the shift toward a positive AMO phase that happened in the 1990s.
References
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Barnett T P, Adam J C and Lettenmaier D P 2005 Potential impacts of a warming climate on water availability in snow-dominated regions Nature 438 303–9
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Scho ̈ner W 2009 Climate variability and change in the Greater Alpine Region over the last two centuries based on multi-variable analysis Int. J. Climatol. 29 2197–225
Chimani B, Bo ̈hm R, Matulla C and Ganekind M 2011 Development of a longterm dataset of solid/liquid precipitation Adv. Sci. Res. 6 39–43
Clark M P, Serreze M C and Robinson D A 1999 Atmospheric controls on Eurasian snow extent Int. J. Climatol. 19 27–40
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Cressman G P 1959 An operational objective analysis system Mon. Weather Rev. 87 367–74
Durand Y, Giraut G, Laternser M, Etchevers P, Merindol L and Lesaffre B 2009 Reanalysis of 47 years of climate in the French Alps (1958–2005): climatology and trends for snow cover J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol. 48 2487–512
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Eischeid J K, Baker C B, Karl T R and Diaz H F 1995 The quality control of long-term climatological data using objective data analysis J. Appl. Meteorol. 34 2787–95
Elsasser H and Messerli P 2001 The vulnerability of the snow industry in the Swiss Alps Mt. Res. Dev. 21 335–9
Enfield D B, Mestas-Nunez A M and Trimble P J 2001 The Atlantic multidecadal oscillation and its relationship to rainfall and river flows in the continental US Geophys. Res. Lett. 28 2077–80
Finger D C, Heinrich G, Gobiet A and Bauder A 2012 Projections of future water resources and their uncertainty in a glacierized catchment in the Swiss Alps and the subsequent effects on hydropower production during the 21st century Water Resour. Res. 48 W02521
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Groisman P Y, Karl T R and Knight R W 1994 Observed impact of snow cover on the heat balance and the rise of continental spring temperatures Science 263 198–200
Ha ̈nggi P and Weingartner R 2012 Variations in discharge volumes for hydropower generation in Switzerland Water Resources Manag. 26 1231–52
Hantel M and Hirtl-Wielke L M 2007 Sensitivity of Alpine snow cover to European temperature Int. J. Climatol. 27 1265–75
Hurrell J 1995 Decadal trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation regional temperatures and precipitation Science 269 676–9
Huss M, Hock R, Bauder A and Funk M 2010 100-year mass changes in the Swiss Alps linked to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation Geophys. Res. Lett. 37 L10501
Kaplan A, Cane M, Kushnir Y, Clement A, Blumenthal M and Rajagopalan B 1998 Analyses of global sea surface temperature 1856–1991 J. Geophys. Res. 103 18567–89
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Keller F, Goyette S and Beniston M 2005 Sensitivity analysis of snow cover to climate change scenarios and their impact on plant habitats in alpine terrain Clim. Change 72 299–319
Laternser M and Schneebeli M 2003 Long-term snow climate trends of the Swiss Alps (1931–99) Int. J. Climatol. 23 733–50
Marty C 2008 Regime shift of snow days in Switzerland Geophys. Res. Lett. 35 L12501
Marty C and Blanchet J 2012 Long-term changes in annual maximum snow depth and snowfall in Switzerland based on extreme value statistics Clim. Change 111 705–21
Scherrer S C and Appenzeller C 2006 Swiss Alpine snow pack variability: major patterns and links to local climate and large-scale flow Clim. Res. 32 187–99
Scherrer S C, Appenzeller C and Laternser M 2004 Trends in Swiss Alpine snow days: the role of local- and large-scale climate variability Geophys. Res. Lett. 31 L13215
Scherrer S C, Wu ̈thrich C, Croci-Maspoli M, Weingartner R and Appenzeller C 2013 Snow variability in the Swiss Alps 1864–2009 Int. J. Climatol. at press (doi:10.1002/joc.3653)
Schlesinger M E and Ramankutty N 1994 An oscillation in the global climate system of period 65–70 years Nature 367 723–6 Serquet G, Marty C, Dulex J-P and Rebetez M 2011 Seasonal trends
and temperature dependence of the snowfall/precipitation-day
ratio in Switzerland Geophys. Res. Lett. 38 L046976 Sutton R T and Dong B 2012 Atlantic Ocean influence on a shift in
European climate in the 1990s Nature Geosci. 5 788–92 Toeglhofer C, Eigner F and Prettenthaler F 2011 Impacts of snow
conditions on tourism demand in Austrian ski areas Clim. Res.
46 1–14 Trenberth K E et al 2007 Observations: surface and atmospheric
climate change Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ed S Solomon, D Qin, M Manning, Z Chen,
M Marquis, K B Averyt, M Tignor and H
L Miller (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) Valt M and Cianfarra P 2010 Recent snow cover variability in the
Italian Alps Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 64 146–57
Barnett T P, Adam J C and Lettenmaier D P 2005 Potential impacts of a warming climate on water availability in snow-dominated regions Nature 438 303–9
Bartolini E, Claps P and D’Odorico P 2001 Connecting European snow cover variability with large scale atmospheric patterns Adv. Geosci. 26 93–7
Baxter M A, Graves C E and Moore J T 2005 A climatology of snow-to-liquid ratio for the contiguous United States Weather Forecast. 20 729–44
Beniston M 1997 Variations of snow depth and duration in the Swiss Alps over the last 50 years: links to changes in large-scale climatic forcings Clim. Change 36 281–300
Beniston M 2012 Is snow in the Alps receding or disappearing?
Wiley Interdiscip. Rev. Clim. Change 3 349–58 Brunetti M, Lentini G, Maugeri M, Nanni T, Auer I, Bo ̈hm R and
Scho ̈ner W 2009 Climate variability and change in the Greater Alpine Region over the last two centuries based on multi-variable analysis Int. J. Climatol. 29 2197–225
Chimani B, Bo ̈hm R, Matulla C and Ganekind M 2011 Development of a longterm dataset of solid/liquid precipitation Adv. Sci. Res. 6 39–43
Clark M P, Serreze M C and Robinson D A 1999 Atmospheric controls on Eurasian snow extent Int. J. Climatol. 19 27–40
Compo G P et al 2011 The twentieth century reanalysis project Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 137 1–28
Cressman G P 1959 An operational objective analysis system Mon. Weather Rev. 87 367–74
Durand Y, Giraut G, Laternser M, Etchevers P, Merindol L and Lesaffre B 2009 Reanalysis of 47 years of climate in the French Alps (1958–2005): climatology and trends for snow cover J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol. 48 2487–512
Eccel E, Cau P and Ranzi R 2012 Data reconstruction and homogenization for reducing uncertainties in high-resolution climate analysis in Alpine regions Theor. Appl. Climatol. 110 345–58
Eischeid J K, Baker C B, Karl T R and Diaz H F 1995 The quality control of long-term climatological data using objective data analysis J. Appl. Meteorol. 34 2787–95
Elsasser H and Messerli P 2001 The vulnerability of the snow industry in the Swiss Alps Mt. Res. Dev. 21 335–9
Enfield D B, Mestas-Nunez A M and Trimble P J 2001 The Atlantic multidecadal oscillation and its relationship to rainfall and river flows in the continental US Geophys. Res. Lett. 28 2077–80
Finger D C, Heinrich G, Gobiet A and Bauder A 2012 Projections of future water resources and their uncertainty in a glacierized catchment in the Swiss Alps and the subsequent effects on hydropower production during the 21st century Water Resour. Res. 48 W02521
Francou B, Vuille M, Wagnon P, Mendoza J and Sicart J-E 2003 Tropical climate change recorded by a glacier in the central Andes during the last decades of the twentieth century: Chacaltaya, Bolivia, 16◦S J. Geophys. Res. 108 4154
Groisman P Y, Karl T R and Knight R W 1994 Observed impact of snow cover on the heat balance and the rise of continental spring temperatures Science 263 198–200
Ha ̈nggi P and Weingartner R 2012 Variations in discharge volumes for hydropower generation in Switzerland Water Resources Manag. 26 1231–52
Hantel M and Hirtl-Wielke L M 2007 Sensitivity of Alpine snow cover to European temperature Int. J. Climatol. 27 1265–75
Hurrell J 1995 Decadal trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation regional temperatures and precipitation Science 269 676–9
Huss M, Hock R, Bauder A and Funk M 2010 100-year mass changes in the Swiss Alps linked to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation Geophys. Res. Lett. 37 L10501
Kaplan A, Cane M, Kushnir Y, Clement A, Blumenthal M and Rajagopalan B 1998 Analyses of global sea surface temperature 1856–1991 J. Geophys. Res. 103 18567–89
Kaser G, Hardy D R, Mo ̈lg T, Bradley R S and Hyera T M 2004 Modern glacier retreat on Kilimanjaro as evidence of climate change: Observations and facts Int. J. Climatol. 24 329–39
Keller F, Goyette S and Beniston M 2005 Sensitivity analysis of snow cover to climate change scenarios and their impact on plant habitats in alpine terrain Clim. Change 72 299–319
Laternser M and Schneebeli M 2003 Long-term snow climate trends of the Swiss Alps (1931–99) Int. J. Climatol. 23 733–50
Marty C 2008 Regime shift of snow days in Switzerland Geophys. Res. Lett. 35 L12501
Marty C and Blanchet J 2012 Long-term changes in annual maximum snow depth and snowfall in Switzerland based on extreme value statistics Clim. Change 111 705–21
Scherrer S C and Appenzeller C 2006 Swiss Alpine snow pack variability: major patterns and links to local climate and large-scale flow Clim. Res. 32 187–99
Scherrer S C, Appenzeller C and Laternser M 2004 Trends in Swiss Alpine snow days: the role of local- and large-scale climate variability Geophys. Res. Lett. 31 L13215
Scherrer S C, Wu ̈thrich C, Croci-Maspoli M, Weingartner R and Appenzeller C 2013 Snow variability in the Swiss Alps 1864–2009 Int. J. Climatol. at press (doi:10.1002/joc.3653)
Schlesinger M E and Ramankutty N 1994 An oscillation in the global climate system of period 65–70 years Nature 367 723–6 Serquet G, Marty C, Dulex J-P and Rebetez M 2011 Seasonal trends
and temperature dependence of the snowfall/precipitation-day
ratio in Switzerland Geophys. Res. Lett. 38 L046976 Sutton R T and Dong B 2012 Atlantic Ocean influence on a shift in
European climate in the 1990s Nature Geosci. 5 788–92 Toeglhofer C, Eigner F and Prettenthaler F 2011 Impacts of snow
conditions on tourism demand in Austrian ski areas Clim. Res.
46 1–14 Trenberth K E et al 2007 Observations: surface and atmospheric
climate change Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ed S Solomon, D Qin, M Manning, Z Chen,
M Marquis, K B Averyt, M Tignor and H
L Miller (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) Valt M and Cianfarra P 2010 Recent snow cover variability in the
Italian Alps Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 64 146–57
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