Climate impact of high northern vegetation: Late Miocene and present

Abstract

The Late Miocene belongs to the late phase of the Cenozoic. Climate at that time was still warmer and more humid as compared to today, especially in the high latitudes. Corresponding to the climate situation, palaeobotanical evidences support that vegetation in the high northern latitudes changed significantly from the Late Miocene until today. To quantify the climate impact of this vegetation change, we analyse how vegetation in the high northern latitudes contribute to climate evolution. For that, we perform climate modelling sensitivity experiments for the present and for the Late Miocene (Tortonian, 11–7 Ma). For our present-day sensitivity experiment, we introduce the Tortonian vegetation in the high northern latitudes. For our Tortonian sensitivity experiment, we introduce the modern vegetation on the same grid cells. In the Tortonian and in the present, the modern vegetation leads to a strong cooling of the northern extratropics (up to −4°C). Nevertheless, the meridional heat transports remain nearly unchanged in both cases. In general, the vegetation impact on climate is similar in the Tortonian and in the present. However, some exceptions occur. Due to the Tethys Ocean in the Tortonian, temperatures decline only weakly in eastern Europe and western Asia. In the Tortonian climate, temperatures on the Sahara realm rise (up to +1.5°C), while the temperatures do not change remarkably in the present-day climate. This different behaviour is caused by a stronger and more sensitive hydrological cycle on the Sahara region during the Tortonian.