Upper-air temperatures around Greenland: 1964–2005

[1] A 42-year collection of 12h balloon soundings from six sites surrounding Greenland reveal distinct patterns of tropospheric and stratospheric temperature variability. Seasonal mean upper-air temperatures exhibit statistically significant correlations with surface air temperature records. Over the full 1964–2005 record, patterns of statistically significant tropospheric warming and stratospheric cooling are evident. Overall, the magnitude of warming decreases with height, becoming cooling in the mid-stratosphere. During the recent 12-year period (1994–2005) lacking major volcanic forcing, statistically significant warming (+2.5 K to +5 K) is evident throughout the troposphere at all sites, with seasonal changes in the +3 K to +9 K range near the surface at 1000 hPa. The recent (1994–2005) tropospheric warming has dominated the 1964–2005 lower troposphere temperature change, despite 1964–1982 upper-tropospheric cooling. Citation: Box, J. E., and A. E. Cohen (2006), Upper-air temperatures around Greenland: 1964– 2005, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L12706, doi:10.1029/ 2006GL025723.