Abstract
It has been suggested by a number of paleoclimatologists that formation of a low salinity meltwater layer in the North Atlantic ocean during the period(s) of most rapid volumetric glacial retreat following the Wisconsin glacial maximum could have led to an extension of North Atlantic sea ice sufficient to cause a temporary, regional (at least) reversal of the longer term deglacial warming trend. In particular, it is speculated that such an extension of North Atlantic sea ice may have been responsible for the Younger Dryas (10,800-10,000 yr. BP) cold interval, evident in European proxy climatic records. Others have suggested (in the context of ice age initiation) that one feedback mechanism whereby equatorward extension of North Atlantic sea ice could amplify the regional high latitude temperature response is through a reduction in the poleward transport of heat by ocean currents as sea ice extends equatorward. At the same time, there is evidence that the Younger Dryas interval was not merely a European event, but may have been worldwide in scope. Some of the above-mentioned hypotheses and feedback mechanisms are quantitatively investigated using several energy balance climate models as well as general circulation model experiments in which (NCAR model) all oceanic grid points in the North Atlantic Ocean north of 45° latitude will be considered ice covered and sea ice; or land and sea ice as well as orbital elements are imposed appropriate to 10,500 yr. BP (GISS GCM). All of these results are intercompared. All sets of results show that there are substantial seasonal and regional differences in the climatic response for these particular forcings. Because the climatic signals are so different from season to season and from place to place, these model results help to suggest a priority list indicating where paleoclimatologists might dig through the geologic record in order to uncover remains which might help to tell us the seasonal and regional distribution of past climates. As that field evidence becomes available, then not only will we have an opportunity for an explanation of a very intriguing, rapid and dramatic past climatic change, but we will have another opportunity to independently verify the fidelity of our climatic models.
The author’s contribution was conducted while an employee of Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, Greenbelt, Maryland
The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation
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© 1987 D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland
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Schneider, S.H., Peteet, D.M., North, G.R. (1987). A Climate Model Intercomparison for the Younger Dryas and its Implications for Paleoclimatic Data Collection. In: Berger, W.H., Labeyrie, L.D. (eds) Abrupt Climatic Change. NATO ASI Series, vol 216. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3993-6_33
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3993-6_33
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