The Pangean ice age: studies with a coupled climate-ice sheet model

Application of an ice sheet model developed for the Pleistocene to the exte nsive Carboniferous glaciation on Gondwana yields an ice sheet which has se veral features consistent with observations. While complete deglaciation is not achieved without CO, 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 reasonabl e parameter space. The model also exhibits multiple equilibria and sharp bi furcations, 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 Pleisto cene provides additional support for the robustness of the basic model phys ics and suggests that the model can be applied with some confidence to othe r pre-Pleistocene glaciations.