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Testing paleogeographic controls on a Neoproterozoic snowball Earth
Author(s) -
Poulsen Christopher J.,
Jacob Robert L.,
Pierrehumbert Raymond T.,
Huynh Tran T.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2001gl014352
Subject(s) - snowball earth , climatology , geology , climate model , latitude , sea ice , atmosphere (unit) , shortwave radiation , atmospheric sciences , climate state , glacial period , oceanography , climate change , global warming , effects of global warming , meteorology , paleontology , physics , geodesy , quantum mechanics , radiation
The distribution of continents during the Neoproterozoic has been hypothesized to play an important role in the initiation of an ice‐covered Earth. In this study, the influence of paleogeography on the Neoproterozoic climate is evaluated using a fully coupled ocean‐atmosphere general circulation model (FOAM). Three simulations were completed with different continental distributions. Each simulation included a reduced solar luminosity (93% of present‐day) and low atmospheric CO 2 (140 ppmv). Model results indicate that a low‐latitude concentration of continents leads to lower tropical temperatures, through reduced receipt of shortwave radiation and a smaller tropical greenhouse effect, but does not significantly affect high‐latitude temperatures or sea‐ice extent. In contrast, the presence of snow‐covered, mid‐ and high‐latitude continents increases the sensible heat transport over the ocean, giving rise to sea‐surface cooling, deep‐water formation, and an advanced sea‐ice margin. Nonetheless, an ice‐covered Earth is not simulated in these experiments.