HR: 0800h
AN: PP11B-1442    [Abstracts]
TI: Investigation of sea-ice/Climate Interaction Models That Feature Abrupt, Switch-Like Behavior Using Python, a Low-Level Programming Language Useful for Climate Research
AU: * Turnbull, I D
EM: iant@uchicago.edu
AF: The University of Chicago Henry Hinds Geophysical Sciences Laboratory, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 United States
AU: Eshel, G
EM: geshel@uchicago.edu
AF: The University of Chicago Henry Hinds Geophysical Sciences Laboratory, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 United States
AU: Pierrehumbert, R T
EM: rtp1@geosci.uchicago.edu
AF: The University of Chicago Henry Hinds Geophysical Sciences Laboratory, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 United States
AB: Recent study of interactions between sea ice, ocean circulation, and continental ice sheet advance and retreat have suggested that rapid, switch-like behavior may explain abrupt climate change evident in paleoclimatic records [Sayag et al., 2004]. The authors of this study theorized that the last glacial period was marked by periods of rapidly advancing sea ice cover in the northern hemisphere synchronized with advancing continental glaciation that were spread within a background of slow advance or retreat of the continental and sea ice. In an effort to further investigate the interesting behavior suggested by Sayag et al. [2004], I constructed a similar sea ice/continental ice model using the Python programming language. In my experiments, I conduct a series of sensitivity experiments to examine how robust the rapid, switch-like behavior is to various parameter choices. For example, in the original study, land ice density is 850 kg/m³, which lies below the 910 to 917 kg/m³ value considered more realistic. I intend to report on sensitivity studies exploring this modification of density as well as the modification of stress thresholds defining continental ice sheet thickness and albedo values, and the sea ice albedo value. Additionally, I will examine the sensitivity of the sea ice switch-like behavior to ice sheet discharge into the northern ocean.
DE: 1605 Abrupt/rapid climate change (4901, 8408)
DE: 3344 Paleoclimatology (0473, 4900)
DE: 4900 PALEOCEANOGRAPHY (0473, 3344)
DE: 4901 Abrupt/rapid climate change (1605)
SC: Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology [PP]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005