Data archive for Towards understanding potential atmospheric contributions to abrupt climate changes: characterizing changes to the North Atlantic eddy-driven jet over the last deglaciation

This archive contains simulated North Atlantic eddy-driven jet latitude and tilt data generated using the PlaSim model to accompany Andres and Tarasov (Climate of the Past, accepted), DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1-2019. Paper abstract is as follows: "Abrupt climate shifts of large amplit...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Andres, Heather J., Tarasov, Lev
Format: Other/Unknown Material
Language:English
Published: Zenodo 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3369241
Description
Summary:This archive contains simulated North Atlantic eddy-driven jet latitude and tilt data generated using the PlaSim model to accompany Andres and Tarasov (Climate of the Past, accepted), DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1-2019. Paper abstract is as follows: "Abrupt climate shifts of large amplitudes were common features of the Earth’s climate as it transitioned into and out of the last full glacial state approximately 20 000 years ago, but their causes are not yet established. Midlatitude atmospheric dynamics may have played an important role in these climate variations through their effects on heat and precipitation distributions, sea ice extent, and wind-driven ocean circulation patterns. This study characterizes deglacial winter wind changes over the North Atlantic (NAtl) in a suite of transient deglacial simulations using the PlaSim Earth system model (run at T42 resolution) and the TraCE- 21ka (T31) simulation. Though driven with yearly updates in surface elevation, we detect multiple instances of NAtl jet transitions in the PlaSim simulations that occur within 10 simulation years and a sensitivity of the jet to background climate conditions. Thus, we suggest that changes to the NAtl jet may play an important role in abrupt glacial climate changes. We identify two types of simulated wind changes over the last deglaciation. Firstly, the latitude of the NAtl eddy-driven jet shifts northward over the deglaciation in a sequence of distinct steps. Secondly, the variability in the NAtl jet gradually shifts from a Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) state with a strongly preferred jet latitude and a restricted latitudinal range to one with no single preferred latitude and a range that is at least 11 ◦ broader. These changes can significantly affect ocean circulation. Changes to the position of the NAtl jet alter the location of the wind forcing driving oceanic surface gyres and the limits of sea ice extent, whereas a shift to a more variable jet reduces the effectiveness of the wind forcing at driving surface ocean ...