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Simulating the amplification of orbital forcing by ocean feedbacks in the last glaciation

Nature volume 410, pages 570–574 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

According to Milankovitch theory, the lower summer insolation at high latitudes about 115,000 years ago allowed winter snow to persist throughout summer, leading to ice-sheet build-up and glaciation1. But attempts to simulate the last glaciation using global atmospheric models have failed to produce this outcome when forced by insolation changes only2,3,4,5. These results point towards the importance of feedback effects—for example, through changes in vegetation or the ocean circulation—for the amplification of solar forcing6,7,8,9. Here we present a fully coupled ocean–atmosphere model of the last glaciation that produces a build-up of perennial snow cover at known locations of ice sheets during this period. We show that ocean feedbacks lead to a cooling of the high northern latitudes, along with an increase in atmospheric moisture transport from the Equator to the poles. These changes agree with available geological data10,11,12,13,14,15 and, together, they lead to an increased delivery of snow to high northern latitudes. The mechanism we present explains the onset of glaciation—which would be amplified by changes in vegetation—in response to weak orbital forcing.

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Figure 1: Seasonal variations of the response of surface temperature and the hydrological cycle to changing insolation forcing at the top of the atmosphere.
Figure 2: Changes in sea surface temperature and heat transport in response to seasonal perturbation in solar forcing.
Figure 3: Response of thermohaline circulation and deep convection to changing insolation forcing.
Figure 4: Monthly time series of snow depth in centimetres.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the LODYC for providing the ocean model and the sea-ice model, the LMD for the atmosphere model, and the CERFACS for the coupler, OASIS. Computer time was provided by the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique. We thank S. Harrison, J. C. Duplessy and D. Paillard for their comments, which helped to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LSCE, CE-Saclay, Gif sur Yvette, 91191, France

    M. Khodri, Y. Leclainche, G. Ramstein, P. Braconnot, O. Marti & E. Cortijo

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  1. M. Khodri
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  2. Y. Leclainche
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Correspondence to M. Khodri.

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Khodri, M., Leclainche, Y., Ramstein, G. et al. Simulating the amplification of orbital forcing by ocean feedbacks in the last glaciation. Nature 410, 570–574 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35069044

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