Numerical simulations of the Cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle
After more than a century of geological research, the Cordilleran ice sheet of North America remains among the least understood in terms of its former extent, volume, and dynamics. Because of the mountainous topography on which the ice sheet formed, geological studies have often had only local or re...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tc31016 2023-05-15T13:54:27+02:00 Numerical simulations of the Cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle Seguinot, Julien Rogozhina, Irina Stroeven, Arjen P. Margold, Martin Kleman, Johan 2018-09-27 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-639-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/639/2016/ eng eng doi:10.5194/tc-10-639-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/639/2016/ eISSN: 1994-0424 Text 2018 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-639-2016 2020-07-20T16:24:13Z After more than a century of geological research, the Cordilleran ice sheet of North America remains among the least understood in terms of its former extent, volume, and dynamics. Because of the mountainous topography on which the ice sheet formed, geological studies have often had only local or regional relevance and shown such a complexity that ice-sheet-wide spatial reconstructions of advance and retreat patterns are lacking. Here we use a numerical ice sheet model calibrated against field-based evidence to attempt a quantitative reconstruction of the Cordilleran ice sheet history through the last glacial cycle. A series of simulations is driven by time-dependent temperature offsets from six proxy records located around the globe. Although this approach reveals large variations in model response to evolving climate forcing, all simulations produce two major glaciations during marine oxygen isotope stages 4 (62.2–56.9 ka) and 2 (23.2–16.9 ka). The timing of glaciation is better reproduced using temperature reconstructions from Greenland and Antarctic ice cores than from regional oceanic sediment cores. During most of the last glacial cycle, the modelled ice cover is discontinuous and restricted to high mountain areas. However, widespread precipitation over the Skeena Mountains favours the persistence of a central ice dome throughout the glacial cycle. It acts as a nucleation centre before the Last Glacial Maximum and hosts the last remains of Cordilleran ice until the middle Holocene (6.7 ka). Text Antarc* Antarctic Greenland Ice Sheet Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Antarctic Greenland Skeena ENVELOPE(-130.198,-130.198,53.646,53.646) Skeena Mountains ENVELOPE(-128.671,-128.671,56.500,56.500) The Cryosphere 10 2 639 664 |
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Open Polar |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
After more than a century of geological research, the Cordilleran ice sheet of North America remains among the least understood in terms of its former extent, volume, and dynamics. Because of the mountainous topography on which the ice sheet formed, geological studies have often had only local or regional relevance and shown such a complexity that ice-sheet-wide spatial reconstructions of advance and retreat patterns are lacking. Here we use a numerical ice sheet model calibrated against field-based evidence to attempt a quantitative reconstruction of the Cordilleran ice sheet history through the last glacial cycle. A series of simulations is driven by time-dependent temperature offsets from six proxy records located around the globe. Although this approach reveals large variations in model response to evolving climate forcing, all simulations produce two major glaciations during marine oxygen isotope stages 4 (62.2–56.9 ka) and 2 (23.2–16.9 ka). The timing of glaciation is better reproduced using temperature reconstructions from Greenland and Antarctic ice cores than from regional oceanic sediment cores. During most of the last glacial cycle, the modelled ice cover is discontinuous and restricted to high mountain areas. However, widespread precipitation over the Skeena Mountains favours the persistence of a central ice dome throughout the glacial cycle. It acts as a nucleation centre before the Last Glacial Maximum and hosts the last remains of Cordilleran ice until the middle Holocene (6.7 ka). |
format |
Text |
author |
Seguinot, Julien Rogozhina, Irina Stroeven, Arjen P. Margold, Martin Kleman, Johan |
spellingShingle |
Seguinot, Julien Rogozhina, Irina Stroeven, Arjen P. Margold, Martin Kleman, Johan Numerical simulations of the Cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle |
author_facet |
Seguinot, Julien Rogozhina, Irina Stroeven, Arjen P. Margold, Martin Kleman, Johan |
author_sort |
Seguinot, Julien |
title |
Numerical simulations of the Cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle |
title_short |
Numerical simulations of the Cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle |
title_full |
Numerical simulations of the Cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle |
title_fullStr |
Numerical simulations of the Cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle |
title_full_unstemmed |
Numerical simulations of the Cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle |
title_sort |
numerical simulations of the cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-639-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/639/2016/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-130.198,-130.198,53.646,53.646) ENVELOPE(-128.671,-128.671,56.500,56.500) |
geographic |
Antarctic Greenland Skeena Skeena Mountains |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Greenland Skeena Skeena Mountains |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_source |
eISSN: 1994-0424 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-10-639-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/639/2016/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-639-2016 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
639 |
op_container_end_page |
664 |
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1766260342713745408 |