Science Source

Industrial-age doubling of snow accumulation in the Alaska Range linked to tropical ocean warming

States that North Pacific hydroclimate is dominated by the Aleutian Low, a semi-permanent wintertime feature characterized by frequent low-pressure conditions that is influenced by tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures through the Pacific-North American (PNA) teleconnection pattern
Presents a 1200-year seasonally- to annually-resolved ice core record of snow accumulation from Mt. Hunter in the Alaska Range developed using annual layer counting and four ice-flow thinning models
Shows a doubling of precipitation since ~1840 CE, with recent values exceeding the variability observed over the past millennium
Finds that the precipitation increase is nearly synchronous with the warming of western tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures
Concludes that while regional 20th century warming may account for a portion of the observed precipitation increase on Mt. Hunter, the magnitude and seasonality of the precipitation change indicate a long-term strengthening of the Aleutian Low