Surface Warming Over Greenland Amplified by Remote Forcing From Tropical Atlantic
Abstract During the satellite era, Greenland's surface air temperature has experienced a rapid warming trend, potentially lengthening the melting season and enhancing surface melting, contributing to ice mass loss. While previous studies have primarily attributed this warming to greenhouse gas forcing, regional feedbacks, and remote forcing from the tropical Pacific, the role of the Atlantic Ocean remains less explored. Using both observations and numerical model simulations, this study identifies an atmospheric teleconnection pattern triggered by tropical North Atlantic (TNA) sea surface temperature (SST) variability, which significantly contributes to surface warming over Greenland. This teleconnection exhibits strong seasonality, with a more pronounced connection during boreal winter and spring. Anomalous TNA warming initiates a poleward‐propagating Rossby wave train, inducing regional circulation adjustments that intensify thermal and moisture advection to Greenland. Enhanced downward long‐wave radiation, associated with these moisture changes, further amplifies the warming trend. These findings provide valuable insights into the warming of Greenland and, by extension, its potential implications for global sea level rise. Moreover, the identified teleconnection may improve the predictability and future projections of Greenland's climate.
Authors
- David M. Holland
- Yurong Hou
- Zhen‐Qiang Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2628-362X)
- Xichen Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6325-6626)
- Yao Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6425-7855)
- Duan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4351-9032)
Institutions
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Peking University (CN)
- NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (US)
- Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (US)
- Institute of Atmospheric Physics (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- New York University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
- Published
- 2025-12-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2025jd044154
- Primary Topic
- Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars