Global warming due to loss of large ice masses and Arctic summer sea ice

• Published in: Nature Communications
• Main Authors: Wunderling, Nico, Willeit, Matteo, Donges, Jonathan F., Winkelmann, Ricarda
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2020
• Subjects: General Physics and Astronomy; General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology; General Chemistry; Antarctic; Arctic; Greenland; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; albedo; Antarc*; Global warming; Ice Sheet; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18934-3; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18934-3.pdf; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18934-3

Abstract Several large-scale cryosphere elements such as the Arctic summer sea ice, the mountain glaciers, the Greenland and West Antarctic Ice Sheet have changed substantially during the last century due to anthropogenic global warming. However, the impacts of their possible future disintegration on global mean temperature (GMT) and climate feedbacks have not yet been comprehensively evaluated. Here, we quantify this response using an Earth system model of intermediate complexity. Overall, we find a median additional global warming of 0.43 °C (interquartile range: 0.39−0.46 °C) at a CO 2 concentration of 400 ppm. Most of this response (55%) is caused by albedo changes, but lapse rate together with water vapour (30%) and cloud feedbacks (15%) also contribute significantly. While a decay of the ice sheets would occur on centennial to millennial time scales, the Arctic might become ice-free during summer within the 21st century. Our findings imply an additional increase of the GMT on intermediate to long time scales.