The Pangean ice age: studies with a coupled climate-ice sheet model (original) (raw)

Abstract

Application of an ice sheet model developed for the Pleistocene to the extensive Carboniferous glaciation on Gondwana yields an ice sheet which has several features consistent with observations. While complete deglaciation is not achieved without CO2 changes, the Milankovich-induced fluctuations in ice sheet volume are comparable to Pleistocene glacial/ interglacial signals. This result is shown to hold for a large fraction of physically reasonable parameter space. The model also exhibits multiple equilibria and sharp bifurcations, as infinitesimal changes in the solar constant or precipitation can lead to a qualitatively different climate. The success of the model in predicting ice location in an environment quite different from the Pleistocene provides additional support for the robustness of the basic model physics and suggests that the model can be applied with some confidence to other pre-Pleistocene glaciations.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Oceanography. Texas A&M University, College Station. TX 77843-3146, USA E-mail: hyde@rossby.tamu.edu, , , , , , US
   W. T. Hyde & T. J. Crowley
2. Department of Geography, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2502, USA, , , , , , GE
   L. Tarasov
3. Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A7, , , , , , CA
   W. R. Peltier

Authors

1. W. T. Hyde
2. T. J. Crowley
3. L. Tarasov
4. W. R. Peltier

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Received: 30 June 1998 / Accepted: 5 January 1999

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Hyde, W., Crowley, T., Tarasov, L. et al. The Pangean ice age: studies with a coupled climate-ice sheet model.Climate Dynamics 15, 619–629 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s003820050305

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• Issue date: September 1999
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s003820050305

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