Acceleration of Northern Ice Sheet Melt Induces AMOC Slowdown and Northern Cooling in Simulations of the Early Last Deglaciation

IVANOVIC, RF, GREGOIRE, LJ, BURKE, A, WICKERT, AD, VALDES, PJ, NG, HC, ROBINSON, LF, MCMANUS, JF, MITROVICA, JX, LEE, L and DENTITH, JE (2018). Acceleration of Northern Ice Sheet Melt Induces AMOC Slowdown and Northern Cooling in Simulations of the Early Last Deglaciation. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 33 (7), 807-824.

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Abstract

The cause of a rapid change in Atlantic Ocean circulation and northern cooling at the onset of Heinrich Stadial 1 ~18.5 ka is unclear. Previous studies have simulated the event using ice sheet and/or iceberg meltwater forcing, but these idealized freshwater fluxes have been unrealistically large. Here we use a different approach, driving a high-resolution drainage network model with a recent time-resolved global paleo-ice sheet reconstruction to generate a realistic meltwater forcing. We input this flux to the Hadley Centre Coupled Model version 3 (HadCM3) climate model without adjusting the timing or amplitude and find that an acceleration in northern ice sheet melting (up to ~7.5 m/kyr global mean sea level rise equivalent) triggers a 20% reduction in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The simulated pattern of ocean circulation and climate change matches an array of paleoclimate and ocean circulation reconstructions for the onset of Heinrich Stadial 1, in terms of both rates and magnitude of change. This is achieved with a meltwater flux that matches constraints on sea level changes and ice sheet evolution around 19–18 ka. Since the rates of melting are similar to those projected for Greenland by 2200, constraining the melt rates and magnitude of climate change during Heinrich Stadial 1 would provide an important test of climate model sensitivity to future ice sheet melt.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1029/2017PA003308
Page Range:	807-824
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Elements
Depositing User:	Symplectic Elements
Date Deposited:	17 May 2021 16:48
Last Modified:	17 May 2021 16:48
URI:	https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/26694

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