Sensitivity of the European LGM climate to North Atlantic sea-surface temperature

Citation
S. Pinot et al., Sensitivity of the European LGM climate to North Atlantic sea-surface temperature, GEOPHYS R L, 26(13), 1999, pp. 1893-1896
Citations number
17
Categorie Soggetti
Earth Sciences
Journal title
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
ISSN journal
00948276 → ACNP
Volume
26
Issue
13
Year of publication
1999
Pages
1893 - 1896
Database
ISI
SICI code
0094-8276(19990701)26:13<1893:SOTELC>2.0.ZU;2-H
Abstract
Recent reconstructions of Sea-Surface Temperatures (SSTs) for the Last Glac ial Maximum (LGM, 21 kyr BP) based on foraminifera and dinoflagellate proxi es suggest that the north Atlantic may have been warmer than estimated by C LIMAP [1981]. To better understand the impact of such a warm north Atlantic on the global LGM climate, we used two different AGCMs to perform sensitiv ity studies. With the new, warmer SSTs, both models simulate a hydrological cycle and temperatures very different from those obtained with the CLIMAP boundary conditions. The most noticeable differences occur in winter over N orth America and Siberia whereas southern Europe is only weakly affected at all seasons. Whichever the conditions prescribed over the north Atlantic, both models underestimate the large cooling recorded by continental proxy d ata over the Mediterranean Basin.