Audet, Alexander C., Putnam, Aaron E., Russell, Joellen L., Lorrey, Andrew, Mackintosh, Andrew, Anderson, Brian, and Denton, George H.
Mountain glaciers are highly sensitive to climate change. However, the extent to which glaciers capture regional to hemisphere‐scale atmospheric processes remains uncertain, hindering paleoclimatic interpretations derived from moraine‐based glacier reconstructions. Here, we evaluate how mid‐latitude glacier systems monitor climate by comparing climate reanalysis products with glacier annual equilibrium line altitude (ELA) elevations from the antipodal Southern Alps of New Zealand and European Alps. We find significant regional and hemispheric correlations between glacier annual ELA and summer tropospheric temperatures. Annual ELA also exhibit positive correlations with the latitude of the westerly jets in both hemispheres. These results indicate that westerly wind‐belt latitude modulates the proportion of cold versus warm air masses influencing these glacier systems. These results highlight the sensitivity of mid‐latitude glaciers to atmospheric temperatures and circulation, with implications for interpreting moraine‐based paleoclimate reconstructions. Combined impacts of ongoing tropospheric warming and poleward‐shifting westerlies will likely accelerate recession of mid‐latitude glaciers. Plain Language Summary: Mountain glaciers respond to climate change by gaining mass when the climate cools and losing mass when the climate warms. However, the extent to which these glacial fluctuations are reflective of local, regional, and hemispheric climate variations is less clear, hindering climatic interpretation of paleo‐glacier reconstructions developed from glacial landforms. This study evaluates the climatic footprint monitored by antipodal mid‐latitude glacier populations by comparing gridded reconstructions of global temperature and wind changes with glacier annual snowline elevations in the Southern Alps of New Zealand and annual equilibrium line altitude elevations in the European Alps. Our results indicate that (a) these glacier systems co‐vary with atmospheric temperatures on regional and even hemispheric scales throughout all levels of the troposphere, and (b) the latitudes of the westerly wind belts are important for regulating the proportion of cold versus warm air masses influencing glacier mass‐balance. Altogether, our results indicate that mid‐latitude mountain glacier fluctuations reflect temperature changes integrated over large regions of the atmosphere. With ongoing climate change, the combination of global atmospheric warming and poleward‐shifting westerlies is likely to accelerate recession of mid‐latitude glaciers in both hemispheres. Key Points: Mid‐latitude glacier annual equilibrium line altitude corresponds to broad regions of atmospheric temperatureMid‐latitude glacier annual equilibrium line altitude is sensitive to latitudinal shifts of the mid‐latitude westerliesThe influence of the westerlies on glaciers has important implications for interpreting past and predicting future climate change [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]