Possible role of atmosphere-biosphere interactions in triggering the last glaciation

International audience We coupled a global biome model iteratively with an atmospheric general circulation model to study the possible role of vegetation in the climate system, at the time of glacial inception 115,000 years ago. Orbital forcing alone was not sufficient to initiate glaciation when ot...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: De Noblet, Nathalie, Prentice, I. Colin, Joussaume, Sylvie, Texier, Delphine, Botta, Aurélie, Haxeltine, Alex
Other Authors: Laboratoire de Modélisation du Climat et de l'Environnement (LMCE)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 1996
Subjects:
[SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean
Atmosphere
[SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces
environment
Arctic
Canada
Fennoscandia
Ice Sheet
Tundra
Online Access:https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03334888
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03334888/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03334888/file/grl1996DeNoblet3191.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1029/96GL03004
Description
Summary:International audience We coupled a global biome model iteratively with an atmospheric general circulation model to study the possible role of vegetation in the climate system, at the time of glacial inception 115,000 years ago. Orbital forcing alone was not sufficient to initiate glaciation when other components of the climate system were kept as present (atmospheric composition, oceans, biosphere and cryosphere). Summers were however cold enough to induce major vegetation shifts in high northern latitudes. Southward migration of the boreal forest/tundra limit helped to create favourable conditions for continental ice-sheet growth, with increasing snow depth and duration in Labrador, Arctic Canada and northem/western Fennoscandia. These results support a role for biogeophysical feedback in initiating glaciations.

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