scholarly journals Dansgaard–Oeschger events: bifurcation points in the climate system

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 323-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Cimatoribus ◽  
S. S. Drijfhout ◽  
V. Livina ◽  
G. van der Schrier
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Abrupt Change ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Climate System ◽  
External Forcing ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Warning Signals ◽  
Climate Fluctuations ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. Dansgaard–Oeschger events are a prominent mode of variability in the records of the last glacial cycle. Various prototype models have been proposed to explain these rapid climate fluctuations, and no agreement has emerged on which may be the more correct for describing the palaeoclimatic signal. In this work, we assess the bimodality of the system, reconstructing the topology of the multi-dimensional attractor over which the climate system evolves. We use high-resolution ice core isotope data to investigate the statistical properties of the climate fluctuations in the period before the onset of the abrupt change. We show that Dansgaard–Oeschger events have weak early warning signals if the ensemble of events is considered. We find that the statistics are consistent with the switches between two different climate equilibrium states in response to a changing external forcing (e.g. solar, ice sheets), either forcing directly the transition or pacing it through stochastic resonance. These findings are most consistent with a model that associates Dansgaard–Oeschger with changing boundary conditions, and with the presence of a bifurcation point.

scholarly journals Dansgaard-Oeschger events: tipping points in the climate system

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 4269-4294 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Cimatoribus ◽  
S. S. Drijfhout ◽  
V. Livina ◽  
G. van der Schrier
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Abrupt Change ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Tipping Point ◽  
Statistical Properties ◽  
Climate System ◽  
Tipping Points ◽  
External Forcing ◽  
Observational Constraint ◽  
Climate Fluctuations

Abstract. The largest variability in temperature over the last sixty thousand years is connected with Dansgaard-Oeschger events. Various prototype models have been proposed to explain these rapid climate fluctuations, but until now no observational constraint has been forwarded to choose between different theories. We assess the bimodality of the system reconstructing the topology of the multi-dimensional attractor over which the climate system evolves. Furthermore, we show that Dansgaard-Oeschger events are compatible with the crossing of a tipping point in the climate system. We use high-resolution ice core isotope data to investigate the statistical properties of the climate fluctuations in the period before the onset of the abrupt change. We find that the statistics are consistent with the switches between two different climate equilibrium states in response to a changing external forcing.

scholarly journals Detailed spatially distributed geothermal heat-flow data for modeling of basal temperatures and meltwater production beneath the Fennoscandian ice sheet

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 95-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens-Ove Näslund ◽  
Peter Jansson ◽  
James L. Fastook ◽  
Jesse Johnson ◽  
Leif Andersson
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Flow Density ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Geothermal Heat ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Uniform Value ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractAccurate modeling of ice sheets requires proper information on boundary conditions, including the geothermal heat flow (or heat-flow density (HFD)). Traditionally, one uniform HFD value is adopted for the entire modeled domain. We have calculated a distributed, high-resolution HFD dataset for an approximate core area (Sweden and Finland) of the Scandinavian ice sheet, and imbedded this within lower-resolution data published for surrounding regions. Within the Last Glacial Maximum ice margin, HFD varies with a factor of as much as 2.8 (HFD values ranging between 30 and 83 mWm–2), with an average of 49 mWm–2. This average value is 17% higher than 42 mWm–2, a common uniform value used in ice-sheet modeling studies of Fennoscandia. Using this new distributed dataset on HFD, instead of a traditional uniform value of 42 mWm–2, yields a 1.4 times larger total basal meltwater production for the last glacial cycle. Furthermore, using the new dataset in high-resolution modeling results in increased spatial thermal gradients at the bed. This enhances and introduces new local and regional effects on basal ice temperatures and melt rates. We observed significant strengthening of local ‘ice streaming’, which in one case correlates to an ice-flow event previously interpreted from geomorphology. Regional to local variations in geothermal heat flow need to be considered for proper identification and treatment of thermal and hydraulic bed conditions, most likely also when studying Laurentide, Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

scholarly journals The anatomy of past abrupt warmings recorded in Greenland ice

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Capron ◽  
S. O. Rasmussen ◽  
T. J. Popp ◽  
T. Erhardt ◽  
H. Fischer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Changes ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Climate System ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Tight Coupling ◽  
Decadal Scale ◽  
Abrupt Changes ◽  
Systematic Pattern ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractData availability and temporal resolution make it challenging to unravel the anatomy (duration and temporal phasing) of the Last Glacial abrupt climate changes. Here, we address these limitations by investigating the anatomy of abrupt changes using sub-decadal-scale records from Greenland ice cores. We highlight the absence of a systematic pattern in the anatomy of abrupt changes as recorded in different ice parameters. This diversity in the sequence of changes seen in ice-core data is also observed in climate parameters derived from numerical simulations which exhibit self-sustained abrupt variability arising from internal atmosphere-ice-ocean interactions. Our analysis of two ice cores shows that the diversity of abrupt warming transitions represents variability inherent to the climate system and not archive-specific noise. Our results hint that during these abrupt events, it may not be possible to infer statistically-robust leads and lags between the different components of the climate system because of their tight coupling.

scholarly journals Glaciation and deglaciation mechanisms in a coupled two-dimensional climate—ice-sheet model

1993 ◽  
Vol 39 (131) ◽  
pp. 45-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Berger ◽  
Hubert Gallée ◽  
Christian Tricot
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Atmospheric Concentration ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Simulated Climate ◽  
Milankovitch Theory ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract A two-dimensional model which links the atmosphere, the mixed layer of the ocean, the sea ice, the continents, the ice sheets and their underlying bedrock has been used to test the Milankovitch theory over the last glacial—interglacial cycle. It was found that the orbital variations alone can induce, in such a system, feed-backs sufficient to generate the low-frequency part of the climatic variations over the last 122 kyear. These simulated variations at the astronomical time-scale are broadly in agreement with ice volume and sea-level reconstructions independently obtained from geological data. Imperfections in the simulated climate were the insufficient southward extent of the ice sheets and the too small hemispheric cooling during the last glacial maximum. These deficiencies were partly remedied in a further experiment (Gallée and others, in press) by using the time-dependent CO2 atmospheric concentration given by the Vostok ice core in addition to the astronomical forcing. For this second experiment, the main mechanisms and feedbacks responsible for the glaciation and the deglaciation in the model are discussed here.

scholarly journals Investigating the evolution of major Northern Hemisphere ice sheets during the last glacial-interglacial cycle

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Bonelli ◽  
S. Charbit ◽  
M. Kageyama ◽  
M.-N. Woillez ◽  
G. Ramstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 Concentration ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. A 2.5-dimensional climate model of intermediate complexity, CLIMBER-2, fully coupled with the GREMLINS 3-D thermo-mechanical ice sheet model is used to simulate the evolution of major Northern Hemisphere ice sheets during the last glacial-interglacial cycle and to investigate the ice sheets responses to both insolation and atmospheric CO2 concentration. This model reproduces the main phases of advance and retreat of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets during the last glacial cycle, although the amplitude of these variations is less pronounced than those based on sea level reconstructions. At the last glacial maximum, the simulated ice volume is 52.5×1015 m3 and the spatial distribution of both the American and Eurasian ice complexes is in reasonable agreement with observations, with the exception of the marine parts of these former ice sheets. A set of sensitivity studies has also been performed to assess the sensitivity of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to both insolation and atmospheric CO2. Our results suggest that the decrease of summer insolation is the main factor responsible for the early build up of the North American ice sheet around 120 kyr BP, in agreement with benthic foraminifera δ18O signals. In contrast, low insolation and low atmospheric CO2 concentration are both necessary to trigger a long-lasting glaciation over Eurasia.

scholarly journals Influence of ablation-related processes in the built-up of simulated Northern Hemisphere ice sheets during the last glacial cycle

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 4897-4938 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Charbit ◽  
C. Dumas ◽  
M. Kageyama ◽  
D. M. Roche ◽  
C. Ritz
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Satisfactory Description ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Transient Simulations ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. Since the original formulation of the positive-degree-day (PDD) method, different PDD calibrations have been proposed in the literature in response to the increasing number of observations. Although these formulations provide a satisfactory description of the present-day Greenland geometry, they have not all been tested for paleo ice sheets. Using the climate-ice sheet model CLIMBER-GRISLI coupled with different PDD models, we evaluate how the parameterization of the ablation may affect the evolution of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets in the transient simulations of the last glacial cycle. Results from fully coupled simulations are compared to time-slice experiments carried out at different key periods of the last glacial period. We find large differences in the simulated ice sheets according to the chosen PDD model. These differences occur as soon as the onset of glaciation, therefore affecting the subsequent evolution of the ice system. To further investigate how the PDD method controls this evolution, special attention is given to the role of each PDD parameter. We show that glacial inception is critically dependent on the representation of the impact of the temperature variability from the daily to the inter-annual time scale, whose effect is modulated by the refreezing scheme. Finally, an additional set of sensitivity experiments has been carried out to assess the relative importance of melt processes with respect to initial ice sheet configuration in the construction and the evolution of past Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. Our analysis reveals that the impacts of the initial ice sheet condition may range from quite negligible to explaining about half of the LGM ice volume depending on the representation of stochastic temperature variations which remain the main driver of the evolution of the ice system.

scholarly journals An international palaeo-environmental project at Paakitsoq, West Greenland

1995 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 88-92
Author(s):  
H.H Thomsen ◽  
P.E Biscaye ◽  
J.C Bourgeois ◽  
C.E Bøggild ◽  
H Oerter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Joint Project ◽  
Large Samples ◽  
Ice Velocity ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Made In ◽  
The Last Glacial

The easily accessible ice at Paakitsoq offers a favourable opportunity to study the major climatic events that occurred during the last glacial cycle, since large samples of ice with a limited age-range can be obtained. In this sense the ice margin record is an alternative to the deep ice-core records where the number of environmental parameters that can be studied is limited by the amount of ice available, each parameter requiring a certain amount of ice for its analysis (Reeh et al., 1993). This possibility has attracted the attention of scientists working with environmental parameters requiring large ice samples. A Danish, American, Canadian and German joint project was therefore initiated, and in April 1994 a programme of retrieving ice samples for studies of pollen, dust, chemistry, textures, fabric and visual stratigraphy was carried out. Furthermore, measurements of mass balance, ice velocity and deformation were made. In addition to the possibility of studying the variation of environmental parameters over a full glacial cycle, the project will also support the establishment of a better chronology along the Paakitsoq profile.

scholarly journals Ice-sheet models as tools for palaeoclimatic analysis: the example of the European ice sheet through the last glacial cycle

1995 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 103-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. S. Boulton ◽  
N. Hulton ◽  
M. Vautravers
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Climate Forcing ◽  
Glacial Period ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Sheet Surface ◽  
The Last Glacial

A numerical model is used to simulate ice-sheet behaviour in Europe through the last glacial cycle. It is used in two modes: a forward mode, in which the model is driven by a proxy palaeoclimate record and the output compared with a geological reconstruction of ice-sheet fluctuation; and an inverse mode, in which we determine the climate function that would be required to simulate geologically reconstructed ice-sheet fluctuations. From these simulations it is concluded that extra-glacial climates may be poor predictors of ice-sheet surface climates, and that climatic transitions during the glacial period may have been much more rapid and the intensity of warming during the early Holocene much greater than hitherto supposed. Stronger climate forcing is required to drive ice-sheet expansion when sliding occurs at the bed compared with a non-sliding bed. Sliding ice sheets grow more slowly and decay more rapidly than non-sliding ice sheets with the same climate forcing.

scholarly journals The sensitivity of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to atmospheric forcing during the last glacial cycle using PMIP3 models

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (252) ◽  
pp. 645-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
LU NIU ◽  
GERRIT LOHMANN ◽  
SEBASTIAN HINCK ◽  
EVAN J. GOWAN ◽  
UTA KREBS-KANZOW
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Climate Forcing ◽  
Phase Iii ◽  
Temperature Pattern ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial

ABSTRACTThe 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.

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