Premium
Effect of altered boundary conditions on GCM studies of the climate of the Last Glacial Maximum
Author(s) -
Hyde William T.,
Peltier W. Richard
Publication year - 1993
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 - 10.1029/92gl02626
Subject(s) - last glacial maximum , ice sheet , insolation , gcm transcription factors , climatology , geology , glacial period , paleoclimatology , ice sheet model , climate change , general circulation model , sea ice , ice stream , paleontology , geomorphology , oceanography , cryosphere
Since publication of the paper by Bard et al. (1990) it has been known that GCM studies of the climate of the last glacial maximum (LGM), employed lower boundary conditions appropriate to this time but astronomical parameters of an era 3000 years later. The LGM boundary conditions from CLIMAP were for 18 kyr BP on the 14 C timescale. The GCM simulations employed the insolation regime appropriate to 18 kyr BP on the sidereal timescale whereas the appropriate LGM insolation regime is that of 21 kyr BP. These studies also used the CLIMAP ice sheet reconstruction. However, on the basis of most recent analyses the reconstruction by Tushingham and Peltier (1991) is to be preferred. Hyde et al. (1989) showed that a simple EBM compared favourably with the NCAR CCM, when both were used to simulate the temperature distribution of the LGM. Here we shall employ the same EBM to study the effect on LGM climate of the timing mismatch, and of the different horizontal extents of the different ice sheet reconstructions. In each case the climatic effect is found to be significant. Thus we cannot claim an accurate LGM simulation unless the orbital and terrestrial inputs match to within 1,000 years and unless we employ the best possible ice sheet reconstruction in the analysis.