Impacts of Mid‐Pliocene Ice Sheets and Vegetation on Afro‐Asian Summer Monsoon Rainfall Revealed by EC‐Earth Simulations

Abstract The impact of mid‐Pliocene boundary conditions on Afro‐Asian summer monsoon (AfroASM) rainfall is examined using the fully coupled Earth System Model EC‐Earth3‐LR. Our focus lies on the effects of varying CO2 concentration, diminished ice sheets and vegetation dynamics. We find that the enh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Zixuan Han, Katherine Power, Gen Li, Qiong Zhang
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024
Subjects:
Geophysics. Cosmic physics
QC801-809
Pacific
Ice Sheet
Sea ice
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106145
https://doaj.org/article/bfa57df77f4846bc90365d04d2533565
Description
Summary:Abstract The impact of mid‐Pliocene boundary conditions on Afro‐Asian summer monsoon (AfroASM) rainfall is examined using the fully coupled Earth System Model EC‐Earth3‐LR. Our focus lies on the effects of varying CO2 concentration, diminished ice sheets and vegetation dynamics. We find that the enhanced AfroASM rainfall is predominantly caused by the “warmer‐gets‐wetter” mechanism due to elevated CO2 levels. Additionally, the ice sheet, similar in size to that of the mid‐Pliocene era, creates several indirect effects. These include sea ice‐albedo feedback and inter‐hemispheric atmosphere energy transport. Such influences result in the southward shift of Hadley circulation and formation of Pacific‐Japan pattern, leading to reduced rainfall in North African and South Asian monsoon regions but increased rainfall in East Asian monsoon region. Interestingly, while dynamic vegetation feedback has a minimal direct effect on AfroASM rainfall, it significantly influences rainfall in the mid‐high latitudes of the North Hemisphere by enhancing water vapor feedback.

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