Sensitivity of the Northern Hemisphere climate system to extreme changes in Holocene Arctic sea ice

Abstract

The extent of seasonal and perennial sea ice changed dramatically through the Late Quaternary and these changes influenced both the ocean and atmosphere by controlling the exchange of energy, moisture and gases between them, and by altering the planetary albedo. Reconstructing the changing patterns of sea ice distribution in the recent past remains one of the outstanding challenges to the paleo-community. To evaluate the importance of these reconstructions we performed sensitivity tests using NCAR's Community Climate Model (CCM3), and a series of prescribed sea ice extents designed to capture the full range of Arctic sea ice variability under interglacial (Holocene) and full glacial (Last Glacial Maximum) boundary conditions. Our simulations indicate that surface temperatures and sea level pressures in winter (DJF) are most sensitive to changes in sea ice, and that these changes are propagated over the surrounding land masses in the North Atlantic, but that equivalent changes in sea ice produce smaller corresponding changes in temperature or sea level pressure in the North Pacific region. A comparison between CLIMAP (Map Chart Series MC-36, Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, 1981) and a more realistic assessment of LGM sea ice yields dramatic changes in winter temperatures and precipitation patterns across Eurasia. These differences, forced only by changed sea ice conditions, reinforce the need to develop accurate maps of past sea ice to correctly simulate Late Quaternary environments. Such reconstructions also will be essential to validate the next generation of sea ice models.