tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post6732339542959406180..comments2024-03-28T07:09:59.093-08:00Comments on Deep Cold: Alaska Weather & Climate: Upper-Level Blocking HighsRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03946704894714514716noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post-5135295119917057572014-05-23T16:26:21.166-08:002014-05-23T16:26:21.166-08:00Eric,
High pressure aloft is associated with high...Eric,<br /><br />High pressure aloft is associated with higher temperatures aloft, so you could well be right about a connection to Greenland melt. It would be interesting to look at regional temperature trends aloft.<br /><br />Greenland and north of Alaska are favored locations for blocking, mostly because of the Northern Hemisphere distribution of topography and land/ocean contrasts (I believe); so the increase in blocking frequency shows up in these locations. The percentage increase also has the most pronounced maximum over Greenland; this is associated with the tendency for negative North Atlantic Oscillation in recent years (and some colder winters in western Europe).<br /><br />Regarding Barrow... interesting question! I have the sense that Barrow has warmed more than many other Arctic locations, and presumably this is partly due to circulation changes in the vicinity. It makes sense that Barrow would be colder with a cold low to the north, so you might be on to something. Worth investigating.<br /><br />I intend to make another post showing the low pressure changes.<br />Richard Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08313902028896263276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post-78268666209879761772014-05-23T08:41:44.034-08:002014-05-23T08:41:44.034-08:00There's been a reported increase in Greenland ...There's been a reported increase in Greenland glacial runoff. I wonder if additional high pressure has anything to do with it? Why is it that only Greenland and north of Alaska affected? Is this why Barrow is having higher temps - something blocking cold air? So many more questions than answers. Perhaps you could do a follow-up with low pressure? Eric Lundellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17914784378747801359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post-13334557464185394902014-05-22T08:23:23.537-08:002014-05-22T08:23:23.537-08:00I forget exactly but I think I ran six threads for...I forget exactly but I think I ran six threads for perhaps six hours to crunch all the numbers. It was not exactly optimized code so could probably be made much faster.<br /><br />I am sure there are indeed a few artifacts near the pole. The adjustment for longitude spacing maintains a stable frequency per grid point, rather than going to near-zero frequency for each of the densely-packed points; but the calculation is still performed on each grid point, so there are some variations on much smaller scales in the east-west direction. The north-south grid spacing is fixed at 2.5 degrees.<br />Richard Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08313902028896263276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post-76009634768953233272014-05-21T18:55:00.426-08:002014-05-21T18:55:00.426-08:00Talk about number crunching! How long did you hav...Talk about number crunching! How long did you have to run your computer? <br /><br />On the maps there seems to be "fingers" coming from the poles that appear unrealistic. Could it be that your algorithim to take into account longitude is introducing artifacts? Eric Lundellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17914784378747801359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post-12770910236625840362014-05-21T13:55:12.479-08:002014-05-21T13:55:12.479-08:00Absolutely fascinating Richard!Absolutely fascinating Richard!Climatologist49https://www.blogger.com/profile/04560505931210357679noreply@blogger.com