Synoptic climatology reconstruction using ice core data from McCall Glacier, Alaska

Ice cores have often been used to reconstruct paleoclimate based on proxies contained in the cores. Using an ice core from McCall Glacier, in the eastern Brooks Range of Alaska we attempt to determine relationships between ice core proxies and synoptic weather patterns influencing McCall Glacier. The method of self-organizing maps is used to objectively identify the synoptic patterns that influence Alaska. Results presented in this talk will focus on relationships between ice core proxies and synoptic weather patterns for the past 60 years, when reliable atmospheric reanalysis data is available. This relationship will then be extrapolated back in time when reanalysis data are not available to understand changes in synoptic patterns that are responsible for features observed in the ice core. The ultimate goal of this project is to relate climate change observed in northeastern Alaska over the past 250 years to the ice core proxies.