The relative roles of CO2 and palaeogeography in determining late Miocene climate: results from a terrestrial model–data comparison

• Published in: Climate of the Past
• Main Authors: A. M. Haywood, J. T. Eronen, M. J. Pound, U. Salzmann, R. Flecker, D. J. Lunt, C. D. Bradshaw
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2012
• Subjects: envir; geo; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1257-2012; http://www.clim-past.net/8/1257/2012/cp-8-1257-2012.pdf; https://doaj.org/article/c1aed9d020c942e38d5a558a19494e95

The late Miocene palaeorecord provides evidence for a warmer and wetter climate than that of today, and there is uncertainty in the palaeo-CO2 record of at least 200 ppm. We present results from fully coupled atmosphere-ocean-vegetation simulations for the late Miocene that examine the relative roles of palaeogeography (topography and ice sheet geometry) and CO2 concentration in the determination of late Miocene climate through comprehensive terrestrial model-data comparisons. Assuming that these data accurately reflect the late Miocene climate, and that the late Miocene palaeogeographic reconstruction used in the model is robust, then results indicate that: 1. Both palaeogeography and atmospheric CO2 contribute to the proxy-derived precipitation differences between the late Miocene and modern reference climates. However these contributions exibit synergy and so do not add linearly. 2. The vast majority of the proxy-derived temperature differences between the late Miocene and modern reference climates can only be accounted for if we assume a palaeo-CO2 concentration towards the higher end of the range of estimates.