Spontaneous abrupt climate change due to an atmospheric blocking–sea-ice–ocean feedback in an unforced climate model simulation
Spontaneous abrupt climate change due to an atmospheric blocking–sea-ice–ocean feedback in an unforced climate model simulation
There is a long-standing debate about whether climate models are able to simulate large, abrupt events that characterized past climates. Here, we document a large, spontaneously occurring cold event in a preindustrial control run of a new climate model. The event is comparable to the Little Ice Age both in amplitude and duration; it is abrupt in its onset and termination, and it is characterized by a long period in which the atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic is locked into a state with enhanced blocking. To simulate this type of abrupt climate change, climate models should possess sufficient resolution to correctly represent atmospheric blocking and a sufficiently sensitive sea-ice model.
climate modeling, thermohaline circulation, Great Salinity Anomaly
19713 -19718
Drijfhout, Sybren
a5c76079-179b-490c-93fe-fc0391aacf13
Gleeson, Emily
79ad7399-5be7-4d95-9127-9847cdb1ef0c
Dijkstra, Henk A.
9178b06d-9de5-4f02-b9ff-204b20620291
Livina, Valerie
6d1acc0e-a264-4e71-b3f2-fc70f199337a
December 2013
Drijfhout, Sybren
a5c76079-179b-490c-93fe-fc0391aacf13
Gleeson, Emily
79ad7399-5be7-4d95-9127-9847cdb1ef0c
Dijkstra, Henk A.
9178b06d-9de5-4f02-b9ff-204b20620291
Livina, Valerie
6d1acc0e-a264-4e71-b3f2-fc70f199337a
Drijfhout, Sybren, Gleeson, Emily, Dijkstra, Henk A. and Livina, Valerie
(2013)
Spontaneous abrupt climate change due to an atmospheric blocking–sea-ice–ocean feedback in an unforced climate model simulation.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110 (49), .
(doi:10.1073/pnas.1304912110).
Abstract
There is a long-standing debate about whether climate models are able to simulate large, abrupt events that characterized past climates. Here, we document a large, spontaneously occurring cold event in a preindustrial control run of a new climate model. The event is comparable to the Little Ice Age both in amplitude and duration; it is abrupt in its onset and termination, and it is characterized by a long period in which the atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic is locked into a state with enhanced blocking. To simulate this type of abrupt climate change, climate models should possess sufficient resolution to correctly represent atmospheric blocking and a sufficiently sensitive sea-ice model.
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Published date: December 2013
Keywords:
climate modeling, thermohaline circulation, Great Salinity Anomaly
Organisations:
Physical Oceanography
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 352595
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/352595
ISSN: 0027-8424
PURE UUID: a01dfa6f-61ff-426f-a87a-af0791ebc6f3
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Date deposited: 15 May 2013 15:09
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:44
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Contributors
Author:
Emily Gleeson
Author:
Henk A. Dijkstra
Author:
Valerie Livina
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