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The sensitivity of the Late Saalian (140 ka) and LGM (21 ka) Eurasian ice sheets to sea surface conditions

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Abstract

This work focuses on the Late Saalian (140 ka) Eurasian ice sheets’ surface mass balance (SMB) sensitivity to changes in sea surface temperatures (SST). An Atmospheric General Circulation Model (AGCM), forced with two preexisting Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka) SST reconstructions, is used to compute climate at 140 and 21 ka (reference glaciation). Contrary to the LGM, the ablation almost stopped at 140 ka due to the climatic cooling effect from the large ice sheet topography. Late Saalian SST are simulated using an AGCM coupled with a mixed layer ocean. Compared to the LGM, these 140 ka SST show an inter-hemispheric asymmetry caused by the larger ice-albedo feedback, cooling climate. The resulting Late Saalian ice sheet SMB is smaller due to the extensive simulated sea ice reducing the precipitation. In conclusion, SST are important for the stability and growth of the Late Saalian Eurasian ice sheet.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Myriam Khodri, Antje Voelker, Catherine Ritz and Thomas Crowley for their useful contributions. The authors acknowledge support by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (project IDEGLACE), the Région Rhône Alpes (programme Explora’Doc) and the Ministère des Affaires Étrangères Français and The Bert Bolin Centre for Climate Research (Stockholm University) for their support. The climate simulations were carried out at IDRIS/CNRS and on the Mirage scientific computing plateform in Grenoble (France).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici, Bologna, Italy

    Florence Colleoni

  2. Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’Environnement, UJF, CNRS, Saint Martin d’Hères Cedex, France

    Florence Colleoni, Gerhard Krinner & Vincent Peyaud

  3. Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockhlom, Sweden

    Florence Colleoni & Martin Jakobsson

  4. Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Johan Liakka

  5. Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Bologna, Italy

    Simona Masina

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  1. Florence Colleoni
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Correspondence to Florence Colleoni.

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Colleoni, F., Liakka, J., Krinner, G. et al. The sensitivity of the Late Saalian (140 ka) and LGM (21 ka) Eurasian ice sheets to sea surface conditions. Clim Dyn 37, 531–553 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-010-0870-7

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