Sea ice in the paleoclimate system: the challenge of reconstructing sea ice from proxies – an introduction

Vernal, Anne de; Gersonde, Rainer; Goosse, H.; Seidenkrantz, Marit‐Solveig; Wolff, Eric W.

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.08.009

Cited by 94 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Other impacts on the storm track relate to sea-ice and sea-surface temperature distributions (Kageyama and Valdes, 2000): during the LGM, for example, extensive Arctic/North Atlantic sea-ice cover is thought to have caused considerable southward storm-track displacement (e.g., Kageyama et al, 1999). These various influences likely account for the significant difference in EIS distributions between the PGM and LGM (e.g., Liakka et al, 2016), given that (i) the PGM had less extensive and seasonally open sea-ice conditions, relative to extensive and severe sea-ice conditions during the LGM (e.g., Spielhagen et al, 2004;Nørgaard-Pedersen et al, 2007;Polyak et al, 2010;de Vernal et al, 2013;Arndt et al, 2014;L€ owemark et al, 2016), and (ii) the NAIS was smaller/lower during the PGM than during the LGM (e.g., Ehlers et al, 2011a).…”

Section: Synthesis Of Pgm Ice-sheet Extents Mapping and Datingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, pore-water d sw measurements are different in the deep Pacific, and northern and southern Atlantic between the LGM and today ; the inferred changes suggest a large freshwater imbalance in the northern convecting regions during the LGM, with an important role for increased sea-ice formation and export. Given the great difference in Arctic sea-ice conditions that has been inferred between the PGM (less extensive and seasonally open) and LGM (extensive and severe sea-ice conditions) (Knies et al, 2000;Polyak et al, 2010;de Vernal et al, 2013;Niessen et al, 2013;Arndt et al, 2014;Jakobsson et al, 2010Jakobsson et al, , 2014bL€ owemark et al, 2016), a difference in both the isotopic composition and volumetric contribution of northern-sourced deep waters might be expected between the two glacial periods. There are some hints of local d sw differences between the two glacial intervals (e.g., Skinner and Shackleton, 2005), with a shoaled hydrographic gradient separating northern-and southern-sourced deep waters and a potentially weaker North Atlantic overturning cell during the PGM.…”

Section: The Global D 18 O:sea-level/ice-volume Relationshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Differences between the last two glacial maxima and implications for ice-sheet, δ18O, and sea-level reconstructions

Rohling

Hibbert

Williams

et al. 2017

Quaternary Science Reviews

115

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Arctic ice shelf Last Interglacial Glacioisostatic adjustment a b s t r a c t Studies of past glacial cycles yield critical information about climate and sea-level (ice-volume) variability, including the sensitivity of climate to radiative change, and impacts of crustal rebound on sealevel reconstructions for past interglacials. Here we identify significant differences between the last and penultimate glacial maxima (LGM and PGM) in terms of global volume and distribution of land ice, despite similar temperatures and radiative forcing. Our analysis challenges conventional views of relationships between global ice volume, sea level, seawater oxygen isotope values, and deep-sea temperature, and supports the potential presence of large floating Arctic ice shelves during the PGM. The existence of different glacial 'modes' calls for focussed research on the complex processes behind ice-age development. We present a glacioisostatic assessment to demonstrate how a different PGM ice-sheet configuration might affect sea-level estimates for the last interglacial. Results suggest that this may alter existing last interglacial sea-level estimates, which often use an LGM-like ice configuration, by several metres (likely upward).

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Section: Synthesis Of Pgm Ice-sheet Extents Mapping and Datingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Global D 18 O:sea-level/ice-volume Relationshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences between the last two glacial maxima and implications for ice-sheet, δ18O, and sea-level reconstructions

Rohling

Hibbert

Williams

et al. 2017

Quaternary Science Reviews

115

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The ongoing severe reduction of Arctic sea ice is largely ascribed to anthropogenic effects, but the current rate of sea-ice reduction is much faster than predicted by models, with rates exceeding the expected effect from temperature change (IPCC, 2013). The factors controlling sea-ice variability are poorly understood, and the provision of sea-ice reconstructions extending back in time beyond the instrumental and satellite era is therefore critical (Masse et al, 2008;Müller et al, 2009;Stein et al, 2012;Belt and Müller, 2013;Collins et al, 2013;de Vernal et al, 2013;Weckstr€ om et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar forcing as an important trigger for West Greenland sea-ice variability over the last millennium

Sha

Jiang

Seidenkrantz

et al. 2016

Quaternary Science Reviews

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a b s t r a c tArctic sea ice represents an important component of the climate system, and the present reduction of sea ice in the Arctic is of major concern. Despite its importance, little is known about past changes in sea-ice cover and the underlying forcing mechanisms. Here, we use diatom assemblages from a marine sediment core collected from the West Greenland shelf to reconstruct changes in sea-ice cover over the last millennium. The proxy-based reconstruction demonstrates a generally strong link between changes in sea-ice cover and solar variability during the last millennium. Weaker (or stronger) solar forcing may result in the increase (or decrease) in sea-ice cover west of Greenland. In addition, model simulations show that variations in solar activity not only affect local sea-ice formation, but also control the sea-ice transport from the Arctic Ocean through a sea-iceeoceaneatmosphere feedback mechanism. The role of solar forcing, however, appears to have been more ambiguous during an interval around AD 1500, after the transition from the Medieval Climate Anomaly to the Little Ice Age, likely to be driven by a range of factors.

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“…S ea ice plays an important role in the global climate system because it influences albedo, heat and gas exchange, freshwater budget, ocean stratification, and deep water mass formation, among other ocean characteristics (1,2). Presently, there is great concern that with ongoing warming, Arctic sea-ice decline is accelerating at an unprecedented pace not seen in at least the past 1,450 y (3).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Arctic sea-ice decline archived by multicentury annual-resolution record from crustose coralline algal proxy

Halfar

Adey

Kronz³

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

135

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Northern Hemisphere sea ice has been declining sharply over the past decades and 2012 exhibited the lowest Arctic summer sea-ice cover in historic times. Whereas ongoing changes are closely monitored through satellite observations, we have only limited data of past Arctic sea-ice cover derived from short historical records, indirect terrestrial proxies, and low-resolution marine sediment cores. A multicentury time series from extremely long-lived annual increment-forming crustose coralline algal buildups now provides the first high-resolution in situ marine proxy for sea-ice cover. Growth and Mg/Ca ratios of these Arctic-wide occurring calcified algae are sensitive to changes in both temperature and solar radiation. Growth sharply declines with increasing sea-ice blockage of light from the benthic algal habitat. The 646-y multisite record from the Canadian Arctic indicates that during the Little Ice Age, sea ice was extensive but highly variable on subdecadal time scales and coincided with an expansion of ice-dependent Thule/ Labrador Inuit sea mammal hunters in the region. The past 150 y instead have been characterized by sea ice exhibiting multidecadal variability with a long-term decline distinctly steeper than at any time since the 14th century.S ea ice plays an important role in the global climate system because it influences albedo, heat and gas exchange, freshwater budget, ocean stratification, and deep water mass formation, among other ocean characteristics (1, 2). Presently, there is great concern that with ongoing warming, Arctic sea-ice decline is accelerating at an unprecedented pace not seen in at least the past 1,450 y (3). Sea-ice cover (SIC) is a sensitive parameter characterized by high variability in space and time (1) and analysis of sea-ice extent on a regional basis reveals that positive and negative anomalies in different sectors of the Arctic often occur simultaneously (4). Early 20th century Northern Hemisphere warming and sea-ice decline were mainly concentrated on the Atlantic portion of the Arctic with focal points in the Labrador Sea and Greenland, whereas mid-late 20th century sea-ice loss was most evident in the Russian Arctic (5-7). Modeling studies indicate that this differential sea-ice decline has likely been caused by Atlantic inflow variability into the Arctic (5, 8) and at least in part driven by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) (7).However, the SIC-atmosphere system is especially difficult to model with only a short observational record available. Instrumental data from satellite observations have been recorded only since the late 1970s when anthropogenic effects were likely already overprinting the natural climate system. Longer-term data from historical observations are far less dependable, because coverage is patchy and reliability sometimes uncertain. For a better understanding of long-term sea-ice variability, both in space and time, a network of high-resolution multicentury or millennial-scale sea-ice data derived from proxy records are needed (3, 9). High-resoluti...

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Sea ice in the paleoclimate system: the challenge of reconstructing sea ice from proxies – an introduction

Cited by 94 publications

References 68 publications

Differences between the last two glacial maxima and implications for ice-sheet, δ18O, and sea-level reconstructions

Differences between the last two glacial maxima and implications for ice-sheet, δ18O, and sea-level reconstructions

Solar forcing as an important trigger for West Greenland sea-ice variability over the last millennium

Arctic sea-ice decline archived by multicentury annual-resolution record from crustose coralline algal proxy

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