Late pleistocene ice age scenarios based on observational evidence

Journal Article · Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Journal of Climate; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1993)006<0709:LPIASB>2.0.CO;2· OSTI ID:6531639

DeBlonde, G ^[1]; Peltier, W R ^[2]

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1. Canada Center for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)
2. Univ. of Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

Ice age scenarios for the last glacial interglacial cycle, based on observations of Boyle and Keigwin concerning the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation and of Barnola et al. concerning atmospheric CO[sub 2] variations derived from the Vostok ice cores, are herein analyzed. Northern Hemisphere continental ice sheets are simulated with an energy balance model (EBM) that is asynchronously coupled to vertically integrated ice sheets models based on the Glen flow law. The EBM includes both a realistic land-sea distribution and temperature-albedo feedback and is driven with orbital variations of effective solar insolation. With the addition of atmospheric CO[sub 2] and ocean heat flux variations, but not in their absence, a complete collapse is obtained for the Eurasian ice sheet but not for the North American ice sheet. We therefore suggest that further feedback mechanisms, perhaps involving more accurate modeling of the dynamics of the mostly marine-based Laurentide complex appears necessary to explain termination I. 96 refs., 12 figs., 2 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 6531639
• Journal Information: Journal of Climate; (United States), Vol. 6:4; ISSN 0894-8755
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CARBON DIOXIDE
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
PLEISTOCENE EPOCH
ENERGY BALANCE
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
ALBEDO
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GLACIERS
HEAT FLUX
ICE
OCEANIC CIRCULATION
PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CENOZOIC ERA
CHALCOGENIDES
GEOLOGIC AGES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PALEONTOLOGY
QUATERNARY PERIOD
VARIATIONS
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