The sensitivity of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to atmospheric forcing during the last glacial cycle using PMIP3 models
The evolution of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets through the last glacial cycle is simulated with the glacial index method by using the climate forcing from one General Circulation Model, COSMOS. By comparing the simulated results to geological reconstructions, we first show that the modelled climate...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2019-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Glaciology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S002214301900042X/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1811155783582220288 |
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| author | LU NIU GERRIT LOHMANN SEBASTIAN HINCK EVAN J. GOWAN UTA KREBS-KANZOW |
| author_facet | LU NIU GERRIT LOHMANN SEBASTIAN HINCK EVAN J. GOWAN UTA KREBS-KANZOW |
| author_sort | LU NIU |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The evolution of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets through the last glacial cycle is simulated with the glacial index method by using the climate forcing from one General Circulation Model, COSMOS. By comparing the simulated results to geological reconstructions, we first show that the modelled climate is capable of capturing the main features of the ice-sheet evolution. However, large deviations exist, likely due to the absence of nonlinear interactions between ice sheet and other climate components. The model uncertainties of the climate forcing are examined using the output from nine climate models from the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project Phase III. The results show a large variability in simulated ice sheets between the different models. We find that the ice-sheet extent pattern resembles summer surface air temperature pattern at the Last Glacial Maximum, confirming the dominant role of surface ablation process for high-latitude Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. This study shows the importance of the upper boundary condition for ice-sheet modelling, and implies that careful constraints on climate output is essential for simulating realistic glacial Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:40:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2624c2e9edad45c2b01688f375a65d77 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:40:25Z |
| publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj.art-2624c2e9edad45c2b01688f375a65d772023-03-09T12:40:48ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522019-08-016564566110.1017/jog.2019.42The sensitivity of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to atmospheric forcing during the last glacial cycle using PMIP3 modelsLU NIU0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8314-7416GERRIT LOHMANN1SEBASTIAN HINCK2EVAN J. GOWAN3UTA KREBS-KANZOW4Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, GermanyAlfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, GermanyAlfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, GermanyAlfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, GermanyAlfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, GermanyThe evolution of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets through the last glacial cycle is simulated with the glacial index method by using the climate forcing from one General Circulation Model, COSMOS. By comparing the simulated results to geological reconstructions, we first show that the modelled climate is capable of capturing the main features of the ice-sheet evolution. However, large deviations exist, likely due to the absence of nonlinear interactions between ice sheet and other climate components. The model uncertainties of the climate forcing are examined using the output from nine climate models from the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project Phase III. The results show a large variability in simulated ice sheets between the different models. We find that the ice-sheet extent pattern resembles summer surface air temperature pattern at the Last Glacial Maximum, confirming the dominant role of surface ablation process for high-latitude Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. This study shows the importance of the upper boundary condition for ice-sheet modelling, and implies that careful constraints on climate output is essential for simulating realistic glacial Northern Hemisphere ice sheets.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S002214301900042X/type/journal_articleIce/atmosphere interactionsice and climateice-sheet modellingpaleoclimate |
| spellingShingle | LU NIU GERRIT LOHMANN SEBASTIAN HINCK EVAN J. GOWAN UTA KREBS-KANZOW The sensitivity of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to atmospheric forcing during the last glacial cycle using PMIP3 models Journal of Glaciology Ice/atmosphere interactions ice and climate ice-sheet modelling paleoclimate |
| title | The sensitivity of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to atmospheric forcing during the last glacial cycle using PMIP3 models |
| title_full | The sensitivity of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to atmospheric forcing during the last glacial cycle using PMIP3 models |
| title_fullStr | The sensitivity of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to atmospheric forcing during the last glacial cycle using PMIP3 models |
| title_full_unstemmed | The sensitivity of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to atmospheric forcing during the last glacial cycle using PMIP3 models |
| title_short | The sensitivity of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to atmospheric forcing during the last glacial cycle using PMIP3 models |
| title_sort | sensitivity of northern hemisphere ice sheets to atmospheric forcing during the last glacial cycle using pmip3 models |
| topic | Ice/atmosphere interactions ice and climate ice-sheet modelling paleoclimate |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S002214301900042X/type/journal_article |
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