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Surface temperature control in the North and tropical Pacific during the last glacial maximum

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Abstract

Based on coupled modelling evidence we argue that topographically-induced modifications of the large-scale atmospheric circulation during the last glacial maximum may have led to a reduction of the westerlies, and a slowdown of the Pacific subtropical gyre as well as to an intensification of the Pacific subtropical cell. These oceanic circulation changes generate an eastern North Pacific warming, an associated cooling in the Kuroshio area, as well as a cooling of the tropical oceans, respectively. The tropical cooling pattern resembles a permanent La Niña state which in turn forces atmospheric teleconnection patterns that lead to an enhancement of the subtropical warming by reduced latent and sensible cooling of the ocean. In addition, the radiative cooling due to atmospheric CO2 and water vapor reductions imposes a cooling tendency in the tropics and subtropics, thereby intensifying the permanent La Niña conditions. The remote North Pacific response results in a warming tendency of the eastern North Pacific which may level off the effect of the local radiative cooling. Hence, a delicate balance between oceanic circulation changes, remotely induced atmospheric flux anomalies as well local radiative cooling is established which controls the tropical and North Pacific temperature anomalies during the last glacial maximum. Furthermore, we discuss how the aftermath of a Heinrich event may have affected glacial temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) through the Collaborative Research Project SFB460 and CAPES-Brasilia, Grant 0794023. We thank Dr. A. Bush and an anonymous reviewer for their help comments on this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IFM-GEOMAR, Leibniz Institut für Meereswissenschaften, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, Kiel, Germany

    A. Timmermann, F. Justino & U. Krebs

  2. Department of Meteorology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA

    F.-F Jin

  3. Institut d’Astronomie et de Géophysique G., Lemaitre, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    H. Goosse

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  1. A. Timmermann
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  2. F. Justino
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Correspondence to A. Timmermann.

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Timmermann, A., Justino, F., Jin, FF. et al. Surface temperature control in the North and tropical Pacific during the last glacial maximum. Climate Dynamics 23, 353–370 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-004-0434-9

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