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Simulating the 128‐ka Antarctic Climate Response to Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheet Melting Using the Isotope‐Enabled HadCM3
Author(s) -
Holloway Max D.,
Sime Louise C.,
Singarayer Joy S.,
Tindall Julia C.,
Valdes Paul J.
Publication year - 2018
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 - 10.1029/2018gl079647
Subject(s) - hadcm3 , meltwater , interglacial , geology , ice sheet , southern hemisphere , climatology , ice sheet model , ice core , cryosphere , antarctic ice sheet , sea ice , oceanography , northern hemisphere , glacial period , antarctic sea ice , climate change , general circulation model , paleontology , gcm transcription factors
Warmer than present Antarctic and Southern Ocean temperatures during the last interglacial, approximately 128,000 years ago, have been attributed to changes in north‐south ocean heat transport, causing opposing hemispheric temperature anomalies. We investigate the magnitude of Antarctic warming and Antarctic ice core isotopic enrichment in response to Northern Hemisphere meltwater input during the early last interglacial. A 1,600‐year HadCM3 simulation driven by 0.25 Sv of meltwater input reproduces 50–60% of the peak Southern Ocean summer sea surface temperature anomaly, sea ice retreat, and ice core isotope enrichment. We also find a robust increase in the proportion of cold season precipitation during the last interglacial, leading to lower isotopic values at the Antarctic ice core sites. These results suggest that a HadCM3 simulation including 0.25 Sv for 3,000–4,000 years would reconcile the last interglacial observations, providing a potential solution for the last interglacial missing heat problem.