Subglacial gas hydrates: ice sheet modulation of methane

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alun Hubbard ◽  
Sunil Vadakkepuliyambatta ◽  
Henry Patton ◽  
Pavel Serov ◽  
Mauro Pau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gas Hydrates ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Hydrate Formation ◽  
Arctic Basin ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Biogenic Methane ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial

<p>Gas hydrates exist within a relatively narrow envelope of thermal and pressure conditions,  small changes in which may lead to widespread dissociation and methane release.  During past glacials, extensive ice sheets covered the continental margins of the Arctic Basin yielding ideal high pressure and low temperature conditions for the sequestration of thermogenic and biogenic methane in hydrate-bearing subglacial sediments.  On ice sheet retreat at the end of the last glacial, these hydrate reservoirs experienced major perturbations in thermal and pressure conditions leading to decomposition and methane mobilization over a variety of magnitude, temporal and spatial scales. Using geophysical data to constrain state-of-the-art ice sheet/gas hydrate modelling, we investigate how past Northern Hemisphere ice sheets modulated carbon sequestration and release.  Our results provide the first quantitative assessment of widespread subglacial hydrate formation and mobilization during the last glacial, yields insights into global carbon cycle dynamics and informs potential future atmospheric greenhouse composition and feedbacks associated with shrinkage of the contemporary cryosphere.</p>

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 An ocean–ice coupled response during the last glacial: a view from a marine isotopic stage 3 record south of the Faeroe Shetland Gateway

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1997-2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Zumaque ◽  
F. Eynaud ◽  
S. Zaragosi ◽  
F. Marret ◽  
K. M. Matsuzaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Stable Isotope Ratio ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Marine Isotopic Stage ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Fluorescence Measurements ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. The rapid climatic variability characterising the Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 3 (~60–30 cal ka BP) provides key issues to understand the atmosphere–ocean–cryosphere dynamics. Here we investigate the response of sea-surface paleoenvironments to the MIS3 climatic variability through the study of a high resolution oceanic sedimentological archive (core MD99-2281, 60°21' N; 09°27' W; 1197 m water depth), retrieved during the MD114-IMAGES (International Marine Global Change Study) cruise from the southern part of the Faeroe Bank. This sector was under the proximal influence of European ice sheets (Fennoscandian Ice Sheet to the East, British Irish Ice Sheet to the South) during the last glacial and thus probably responded to the MIS3 pulsed climatic changes. We conducted a multi-proxy analysis of core MD99-2281, including magnetic properties, x-ray fluorescence measurements, characterisation of the coarse (>150 μm) lithic fraction (grain concentration) and the analysis of selected biogenic proxies (assemblages and stable isotope ratio of calcareous planktonic foraminifera, dinoflagellate cyst – e.g. dinocyst – assemblages). Results presented here are focussed on the dinocyst response, this proxy providing the reconstruction of past sea-surface hydrological conditions, qualitatively as well as quantitatively (e.g. transfer function sensu lato). Our study documents a very coherent and sensitive oceanic response to the MIS3 rapid climatic variability: strong fluctuations, matching those of stadial/interstadial climatic oscillations as depicted by Greenland ice cores, are recorded in the MD99-2281 archive. Proxies of terrigeneous and detritical material suggest increases in continental advection during Greenland Stadials (including Heinrich events), the latter corresponding also to southward migrations of polar waters. At the opposite, milder sea-surface conditions seem to develop during Greenland Interstadials. After 30 ka, reconstructed paleohydrological conditions evidence strong shifts in SST: this increasing variability seems consistent with the hypothesised coalescence of the British and Fennoscandian ice sheets at that time, which could have directly influenced sea-surface environments in the vicinity of core MD99-2281.

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.

Exploring the complex uncertainties in coupled climate-ice simulations of the Last Glacial Maximum

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Gregoire ◽  
Niall Gandy ◽  
Lachlan Astfalck ◽  
Robin Smith ◽  
Ruza Ivanovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

<p>Simulating the co-evolution of climate and ice-sheets during the Quaternary is key to understanding some of the major abrupt changes in climate, ice and sea level. Indeed, events such as the Meltwater pulse 1a rapid sea level rise and Heinrich, Dansgaard–Oeschger and the 8.2 kyr climatic events all involve the interplay between ice sheets, the atmosphere and the ocean. Unfortunately, it is challenging to simulate the coupled Climate-Ice sheet system because small biases, errors or uncertainties in parts of the models are strongly amplified by the powerful interactions between the atmosphere and ice (e.g. ice-albedo and height-mass balance feedbacks). This leads to inaccurate or even unrealistic simulations of ice sheet extent and surface climate. To overcome this issue we need some methods to effectively explore the uncertainty in the complex Climate-Ice sheet system and reduce model biases. Here we present our approach to produce ensemble of coupled Climate-Ice sheet simulations of the Last Glacial maximum that explore the uncertainties in climate and ice sheet processes.</p><p>We use the FAMOUS-ICE earth system model, which comprises a coarse-resolution and fast general circulation model coupled to the Glimmer-CISM ice sheet model. We prescribe sea surface temperature and sea ice concentrations in order to control and reduce biases in polar climate, which strongly affect the surface mass balance and simulated extent of the northern hemisphere ice sheets. We develop and apply a method to reconstruct and sample a range of realistic sea surface temperature and sea-ice concentration spatio-temporal field. These are created by merging information from PMIP3/4 climate simulations and proxy-data for sea surface temperatures at the Last Glacial Maximum with Bayes linear analysis. We then use these to generate ensembles of FAMOUS-ice simulations of the Last Glacial maximum following the PMIP4 protocol, with the Greenland and North American ice sheets interactively simulated. In addition to exploring a range of sea surface conditions, we also vary key parameters that control the surface mass balance and flow of ice sheets. We thus produce ensembles of simulations that will later be used to emulate ice sheet surface mass balance.  </p>

scholarly journals Coupled Northern Hemisphere permafrost–ice-sheet evolution over the last glacial cycle

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1165-1180 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Willeit ◽  
A. Ganopolski
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sediment Layer ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Geothermal Heat ◽  
Climate History ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. Permafrost influences a number of processes which are relevant for local and global climate. For example, it is well known that permafrost plays an important role in global carbon and methane cycles. Less is known about the interaction between permafrost and ice sheets. In this study a permafrost module is included in the Earth system model CLIMBER-2, and the coupled Northern Hemisphere (NH) permafrost–ice-sheet evolution over the last glacial cycle is explored. The model performs generally well at reproducing present-day permafrost extent and thickness. Modeled permafrost thickness is sensitive to the values of ground porosity, thermal conductivity and geothermal heat flux. Permafrost extent at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) agrees well with reconstructions and previous modeling estimates. Present-day permafrost thickness is far from equilibrium over deep permafrost regions. Over central Siberia and the Arctic Archipelago permafrost is presently up to 200–500 m thicker than it would be at equilibrium. In these areas, present-day permafrost depth strongly depends on the past climate history and simulations indicate that deep permafrost has a memory of surface temperature variations going back to at least 800 ka. Over the last glacial cycle permafrost has a relatively modest impact on simulated NH ice sheet volume except at LGM, when including permafrost increases ice volume by about 15 m sea level equivalent in our model. This is explained by a delayed melting of the ice base from below by the geothermal heat flux when the ice sheet sits on a porous sediment layer and permafrost has to be melted first. Permafrost affects ice sheet dynamics only when ice extends over areas covered by thick sediments, which is the case at LGM.

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.

scholarly journals Ice-sheet mass balance during the last glacial maximum

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 145-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Ramstein ◽  
Adeline Fabre ◽  
Sophie Pinot ◽  
Catherine Ritz ◽  
Sylvie Joussaume
Keyword(s):  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Intercomparison Project ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

In the framework of the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP), simulations of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) have- been performed. More than 10 different atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) have been used with the same boundary conditions: sea-surface temperatures prescribed by CLIMAP (1981), ice-sheet reconstruction provided by Peltier (1994), change in insolation, and reduced CO2 content. One of the major questions is to investigate whether the simulations of the LGM are in equilibrium with the prescribed ice-sheet reconstruction. To answer this question, we have used two different approaches. First, we analyze the results of a sel of LGM simulations performed with different versions of the Laboratoire de Meteorolo-gie Dynamique (LMD) AGCM and study the hydrologic and snow- budgets over the Laurcntide and Fennoscandian ice sheets. Second, we use the AGCM outputs to force an ice-sheet model in order to investigate its ability to maintain the ice sheets as reconstructed by CLIMAP (1981) or Peltier (1994).

scholarly journals Evolution of the large-scale atmospheric circulation in response to changing ice sheets over the last glacial cycle

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1453-1471 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Löfverström ◽  
R. Caballero ◽  
J. Nilsson ◽  
J. Kleman
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Laurentide Ice Sheet ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Geological Evidence ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. We present modelling results of the atmospheric circulation at the cold periods of marine isotope stage 5b (MIS 5b), MIS 4 and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), as well as the interglacial. The palaeosimulations are forced by ice-sheet reconstructions consistent with geological evidence and by appropriate insolation and greenhouse gas concentrations. The results suggest that the large-scale atmospheric winter circulation remained largely similar to the interglacial for a significant part of the glacial cycle. The proposed explanation is that the ice sheets were located in areas where their interaction with the mean flow is limited. However, the LGM Laurentide Ice Sheet induces a much larger planetary wave that leads to a zonalisation of the Atlantic jet. In summer, the ice-sheet topography dynamically induces warm temperatures in Alaska and central Asia that inhibits the expansion of the ice sheets into these regions. The warm temperatures may also serve as an explanation for westward propagation of the Eurasian Ice Sheet from MIS 4 to the LGM.

scholarly journals Simulation of the last glacial cycle with a coupled climate ice-sheet model of intermediate complexity

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ganopolski ◽  
R. Calov ◽  
M. Claussen
Keyword(s):  
Surface Energy ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Atmospheric Concentration ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Intermediate Complexity ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. A new version of the Earth system model of intermediate complexity, CLIMBER-2, which includes the three-dimensional polythermal ice-sheet model SICOPOLIS, is used to simulate the last glacial cycle forced by variations of the Earth's orbital parameters and atmospheric concentration of major greenhouse gases. The climate and ice-sheet components of the model are coupled bi-directionally through a physically-based surface energy and mass balance interface. The model accounts for the time-dependent effect of aeolian dust on planetary and snow albedo. The model successfully simulates the temporal and spatial dynamics of the major Northern Hemisphere (NH) ice sheets, including rapid glacial inception and strong asymmetry between the ice-sheet growth phase and glacial termination. Spatial extent and elevation of the ice sheets during the last glacial maximum agree reasonably well with palaeoclimate reconstructions. A suite of sensitivity experiments demonstrates that simulated ice-sheet evolution during the last glacial cycle is very sensitive to some parameters of the surface energy and mass-balance interface and dust module. The possibility of a considerable acceleration of the climate ice-sheet model is discussed.

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