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{"Abstract":["Contains the model output and topography files necessary to reproduce the results of "Linearity of the climate system response to raising and lowering West Antarctic and coastal Antarctic topography" by Andrew G. Pauling, Cecilia M. Bitz and Eric J. Steig. Published in Journal of Climate, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-22-0416.1.<\/p>\n\nPlease download and extract the data from each of the tar.gz.files. A description of the directories, run names, and use of the topography files is given in the file readme.txt within the dataset.<\/p>"]}more » « less
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The observed rate of global warming since the 1970s has been proposed as a strong constraint on equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) and transient climate response (TCR)—key metrics of the global climate response to greenhouse-gas forcing. Using CMIP5/6 models, we show that the inter-model relationship between warming and these climate sensitivity metrics (the basis for the constraint) arises from a similarity in transient and equilibrium warming patterns within the models, producing an effective climate sensitivity (EffCS) governing recent warming that is comparable to the value of ECS governing long-term warming under CO forcing. However, CMIP5/6 historical simulations do not reproduce observed warming patterns. When driven by observed patterns, even high ECS models produce low EffCS values consistent with the observed global warming rate. The inability of CMIP5/6 models to reproduce observed warming patterns thus results in a bias in the modeled relationship between recent global warming and climate sensitivity. Correcting for this bias means that observed warming is consistent with wide ranges of ECS and TCR extending to higher values than previously recognized. These findings are corroborated by energy balance model simulations and coupled model (CESM1-CAM5) simulations that better replicate observed patterns via tropospheric wind nudging or Antarctic meltwater fluxes. Because CMIP5/6 models fail to simulate observed warming patterns, proposed warming-based constraints on ECS, TCR, and projected global warming are biased low. The results reinforce recent findings that the unique pattern of observed warming has slowed global-mean warming over recent decades and that how the pattern will evolve in the future represents a major source of uncertainty in climate projections.more » « less
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{"Abstract":["This archive includes data and ipython notebooks to create the figures for the manuscript "Response of water isotopes in precipitation to a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in high-resolution simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting Model" submitted to Journal of Climate in August 2022.<\/p>\n\nModel output from WRFwiso and iCAM is in data.zip (saved as monthly means)<\/p>\n\nNotebooks and python modules are in scripts.zip<\/p>\n\nRequired python packages (all included in environment.yml):<\/p>\n\nnumpy<\/li>matplotlib<\/li>netcdf4<\/li>basemap<\/li>scipy<\/li>wrf-python<\/li>windspharm<\/li>metpy<\/li>intergrid<\/li>cmocean<\/li><\/ul>"]}more » « less
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Abstract A hierarchy of general circulation models (GCMs) is used to investigate the linearity of the response of the climate system to changes in Antarctic topography. Experiments were conducted with a GCM with either a slab ocean or fixed SSTs and sea ice, in which the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) and coastal Antarctic topography were either lowered or raised in an idealized way. Additional experiments were conducted with a fully coupled GCM with topographic perturbations based on an ice-sheet model in which the WAIS collapses. The response over the continent is the same in all model configurations and is mostly linear. In contrast, the response has substantial nonlinear elements over the Southern Ocean that depend on the model configuration and are due to feedbacks with sea ice, ocean, and clouds. The atmosphere warms near the surface over much of the Southern Ocean and cools in the stratosphere over Antarctica, whether topography is raised or lowered. When topography is lowered, the Southern Ocean surface warming is due to strengthened southward atmospheric heat transport and associated enhanced storminess over the WAIS and the high latitudes of the Southern Ocean. When topography is raised, Southern Ocean warming is more limited and is associated with circulation anomalies. The response in the fully coupled experiments is generally consistent with the more idealized experiments, but the full-depth ocean warms throughout the water column whether topography is raised or lowered. These results indicate that ice sheet–climate system feedbacks differ depending on whether the Antarctic ice sheet is gaining or losing mass. Significance StatementThroughout Earth’s history, the Antarctic ice sheet was at times taller or shorter than it is today. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the atmosphere, sea ice, and ocean around Antarctica respond to changes in ice sheet height. We find that the response to lowering the ice sheet is not the opposite of the response to raising it, and that in either case the ocean surface near the continent warms. When the ice sheet is raised, the ocean warming is related to circulation changes; when the ice sheet is lowered, the ocean warming is from an increase in southward atmospheric heat transport. These results are important for understanding how the ice sheet height and local climate evolve together through time.more » « less
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Enhanced Antarctic ice sheet mass loss yields ocean surface freshening, cooling and sea ice expansion, which result in changes in the atmospheric conditions. Using the Southern Ocean Freshwater Input from Antarctica (SOFIA) multi‐model ensemble, we study the atmospheric response to a 100‐year idealized freshwater release of 0.1 Sv. All models simulate a surface‐intensified tropospheric cooling and lower‐stratospheric warming south of 35°S. Tropospheric cooling is attributed to sea ice expansion and the associated albedo enhancement in winter and a colder sea surface in summer. This cooling yields a downward displacement of the tropopause, reduced stratospheric water vapor content and ultimately warming around 200 hPa. An enhanced southward eddy heat flux explains warming at 10–100 hPa during austral winter. Despite a temporally (and spatially) uniform prescribed freshwater flux, a prominent sea ice seasonal cycle and atmosphere dynamics result in a distinct seasonal pattern in the occurrence and magnitude of the temperature responses.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available May 28, 2026
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Abstract The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) may have collapsed during the last interglacial period, between 132 000 and 116 000 years ago. The changes in topography resulting from WAIS collapse would be accompanied by significant changes in Antarctic surface climate, atmospheric circulation, and ocean conditions. Evidence of these changes may be recorded in water-isotope ratios in precipitation archived in the ice. We conduct high-resolution simulations with an isotope-enabled version of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model over Antarctica, with boundary conditions provided by climate model simulations with both present-day and lowered WAIS topography. The results show that while there is significant spatial variability, WAIS collapse would cause detectable isotopic changes at several locations where ice-core records have been obtained or could be obtained in the future. The most robust signals include elevatedδ18O at SkyTrain Ice Rise in West Antarctica and elevated deuterium excess andδ18O at Hercules Dome in East Antarctica. A combination of records from multiple sites would provide constraints on the timing, rate, and magnitude of past WAIS collapse.more » « less
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Abstract Coupled global climate models (GCMs) generally fail to reproduce the observed sea‐surface temperature (SST) trend pattern since the 1980s. The model‐observation discrepancies may arise in part from the lack of realistic Antarctic ice‐sheet meltwater input in GCMs. Here we employ two sets of CESM1‐CAM5 simulations forced by anomalous Antarctic meltwater fluxes over 1980–2013 and through the 21st century. Both show a reduced global warming rate and an SST trend pattern that better resembles observations. The meltwater drives surface cooling in the Southern Ocean and the tropical southeast Pacific, in turn increasing low‐cloud cover and driving radiative feedbacks to become more stabilizing (corresponding to a lower effective climate sensitivity). These feedback changes can contribute as substantially as ocean heat uptake efficiency changes in reducing the global warming rate. Accurately projecting historical and future warming thus requires improved representation of Antarctic meltwater and its impacts.more » « less
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