Modelling Last Glacial Maximum ice cap with the Parallel Ice Sheet Model to infer palaeoclimate in south‐west Turkey

Abstract

ABSTRACTModelling palaeoglaciers in mountainous terrain is challenging due to the need for detailed ice flow computations in relatively narrow and steep valleys, high‐resolution climate estimations, knowledge of pre‐ice topography, and proxy‐based palaeoclimate forcing. The Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM), a numerical model that approximates glacier sliding and deformation to simulate large ice sheets such as Greenland and Antarctica, was recently adapted to alpine environments. In an attempt to reconstruct the climate conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) on Mount Dedegöl in SW Turkey, we used PISM and explored palaeoglacier dynamics at high spatial resolution (100 m) in a relatively small domain (225 km2). Palaeoice‐flow fields were modelled as a function of present temperature and precipitation. Nine different palaeoclimate simulations were run to reach the steady‐state glacier extents and the modelled glacial areas were compared with the field‐based and chronologically well‐established ice extents. Although our results provide a non‐unique solution, best‐fit scenarios indicate that the LGM climate on Mount Dedegöl was between 9.2 and 10.6 °C colder than today, while precipitation levels were the same as today. More humid (20% wetter) or arid (20% drier) conditions than today bring the palaeotemperature estimates to 7.7–8.8 or 11.5–13.2 °C lower than present, respectively.