Impact of ocean dynamics on the simulation of the Neoproterozoic "Snowball Earth"
A fully coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model (the Fast Ocean-Atmosphere Model) is used to simulate the Neoproterozoic climate with a reduced solar luminosity (95% of present-day), low atmospheric CO 2 (140 ppmv), and an idealized tropical supercontinent. Two coupled simulations were co...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2001
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.23.3400 http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~rtp1/papers/GRL_snowball_ocean/GRL_snowball_ocean.pdf |
| Summary: | A fully coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model (the Fast Ocean-Atmosphere Model) is used to simulate the Neoproterozoic climate with a reduced solar luminosity (95% of present-day), low atmospheric CO 2 (140 ppmv), and an idealized tropical supercontinent. Two coupled simulations were completed with present-day and cold initial ocean temperatures. These experiments are compared with uncoupled (i.e., mixed-layer) model experiments to determine the impact of a dynamical ocean on the Neoproterozoic simulations. In contrast to global sea-ice coverage in the uncoupled experiments, the sea-ice margin seasonally advances to 46 and 55 # latitude in the coupled experiments. The coupled simulations demonstrate that dynamic ocean processes can prevent a snowball solution and suggest that a reduced solar luminosity and low atmospheric CO 2 are not by themselves su#cient conditions for a snowball solution. Heat exchange through vertical mixing in the mid-latitudes, caused by static instability, is identified as the primary process halting the advance of the sea-ice margin. |
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