Ice Sheet‐Albedo Feedback Estimated From Most Recent Deglaciation

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Alice Booth, Philip Goodwin, B. B. Cael
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2024
• Subjects: climate sensitivity; slow feedbacks; albedo; ice sheets; Geophysics. Cosmic physics; QC801-809; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109953; https://doaj.org/article/f261ac2ccdbc4ab7bf4c97037316e2e2

Abstract Ice sheet feedbacks are underrepresented in model assessments of climate sensitivity and their magnitudes are still poorly constrained. We combine a recently published record of Earth's Energy Imbalance (EEI) with existing reconstructions of temperature, atmospheric composition, and sea level to estimate both the magnitude and timescale of the ice sheet‐albedo feedback since the Last Glacial Maximum. This facilitates the first opportunity to quantify this feedback over the most recent deglaciation using a proxy data‐driven approach. We find the ice sheet‐albedo feedback to be amplifying, increasing the total climate feedback parameter by 42% and reaching an equilibrium magnitude of 0.55 Wm−2K−1, with a 66% confidence interval of 0.45–0.63 Wm−2K−1. The timescale to equilibrium is estimated as 3.6 ka (66% confidence: 1.9–5.5 ka). These results provide new evidence for the timescale and magnitude of the amplifying ice sheet‐albedo feedback that will drive anthropogenic warming for millennia to come.