Modeling the Dynamics of Glacial Cycles

This chapter is concerned with the dynamics of glacial cycles observed in the geological record of the Pleistocene Epoch. It focuses on a conceptual model proposed by Maasch and Saltzman (J Geophys Res 95(D2):1955–1963, 1990), which is based on physical arguments and emphasizes the role of atmospher...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Engler, Hans, Kaper, Hans G., Kaper, Tasso J., Vo, Theodore
Other Authors: Kaper, Hans, Roberts, Fred
Format: Book Part
Language:English
Published: Springer 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://research.monash.edu/en/publications/22157ff7-7fc0-40e8-a8ab-44399daa3596
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22044-0_1
https://researchmgt.monash.edu/ws/files/298510700/298454164_oa.pdf
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Summary:This chapter is concerned with the dynamics of glacial cycles observed in the geological record of the Pleistocene Epoch. It focuses on a conceptual model proposed by Maasch and Saltzman (J Geophys Res 95(D2):1955–1963, 1990), which is based on physical arguments and emphasizes the role of atmospheric CO2 in the generation and persistence of periodic orbits (limit cycles). The model consists of three ordinary differential equations with four parameters for the anomalies of the total global ice mass, the atmospheric CO2 concentration, and the volume of the North Atlantic Deep Water. In this chapter, it is shown that a simplified two-dimensional symmetric version displays many of the essential features of the full model, including equilibrium states, limit cycles, their basic bifurcations, and a Bogdanov–Takens point that serves as an organizing center for the local and global dynamics. Also, symmetry breaking splits the Bogdanov–Takens point into two, with different local dynamics in their neighborhoods.