Anomalous Meltwater From Ice Sheets and Ice Shelves Is a Historical Forcing

Abstract Recent mass loss from ice sheets and ice shelves is now persistent and prolonged enough that it impacts downstream oceanographic conditions. To demonstrate this, we use an ensemble of coupled GISS‐E2.1‐G simulations forced with historical estimates of anomalous freshwater, in addition to ot...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Gavin. A. Schmidt, Anastasia Romanou, Lettie A. Roach, Kenneth D. Mankoff, Qian Li, Craig D. Rye, Maxwell Kelley, John C. Marshall, Julius J. M. Busecke
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023
Subjects:
Geophysics. Cosmic physics
QC801-809
Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctica
Ice Shelves
North Atlantic
Sea ice
Southern Ocean
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106530
https://doaj.org/article/1746ba3191c24d62a4c625d1d84390e3
Description
Summary:Abstract Recent mass loss from ice sheets and ice shelves is now persistent and prolonged enough that it impacts downstream oceanographic conditions. To demonstrate this, we use an ensemble of coupled GISS‐E2.1‐G simulations forced with historical estimates of anomalous freshwater, in addition to other climate forcings, from 1990 through 2019. There are detectable differences in zonal‐mean sea surface temperatures (SST) and sea ice in the Southern Ocean, and in regional sea level around Antarctica and in the western North Atlantic. These impacts mostly improve the model's representation of historical changes, including reversing the forced trends in Antarctic sea ice. The changes in SST may have implications for estimates of the SST pattern effect on climate sensitivity and for cloud feedbacks. We conclude that the changes are sufficiently large that model groups should strive to include more accurate estimates of these drivers in all‐forcing historical simulations in future coupled model intercomparisons.

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