Sea-ice-free Arctic during the Last Interglacial supports fast future loss
Guarino, M.-V.; Sime, L.C.; Schroeder, D.; Malmierca-Vallet, I.; Rosenblum, E.; Ringer, M.; Ridley, J.; Feltham, D.; Bitz, C.; Steig, E.J.; Wolff, E.; Stroeve, J.; Sellar, A. (2020). Sea-ice-free Arctic during the Last Interglacial supports fast future loss. Nat. Clim. Chang. 10(10): 928-932. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0865-2
In: Nature Climate Change. Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 1758-678X; e-ISSN 1758-6798, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Guarino, M.-V.
- Sime, L.C.
- Schroeder, D.
- Malmierca-Vallet, I.
- Rosenblum, E.
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- Ringer, M.
- Ridley, J.
- Feltham, D.
- Bitz, C.
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- Steig, E.J.
- Wolff, E.
- Stroeve, J.
- Sellar, A.
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| Abstract |
The Last Interglacial (LIG), a warmer period 130,000–116,000 years before present, is a potential analogue for future climate change. Stronger LIG summertime insolation at high northern latitudes drove Arctic land summer temperatures 4–5 °C higher than in the pre-industrial era. Climate model simulations have previously failed to capture these elevated temperatures, possibly because they were unable to correctly capture LIG sea-ice changes. Here, we show that the latest version of the fully coupled UK Hadley Center climate model (HadGEM3) simulates a more accurate Arctic LIG climate, including elevated temperatures. Improved model physics, including a sophisticated sea-ice melt-pond scheme, result in a complete simulated loss of Arctic sea ice in summer during the LIG, which has yet to be simulated in past generations of models. This ice-free Arctic yields a compelling solution to the long-standing puzzle of what drove LIG Arctic warmth and supports a fast retreat of future Arctic summer sea ice. |
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