Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Late Pleistocene variations in Antarctic sea ice II: effect of interhemispheric deep-ocean heat exchange

  • Original Articles
  • Published:
Climate Dynamics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Variations in production rates of warm North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) have been proposed as a mechanism for linking climate fluctuations in the northern and southern hemispheres during the Pleistocene. We have tested this hypothesis by examining the sensitivity of a thermodynamic/dynamic model for Antarctic sea ice to changes in vertical ocean heat flux and comparing the simulations with modified CLIMAP sea-ice maps for 18 000 B.P. Results suggest that changes in NADW production rates, and the consequent changes in the vertical ocean heat flux in the Antarctic, can only account for about 20%–30% of the overall variance in Antarctic sea-ice extent. This conclusion has been validated against an independent geological data set involving a time series of sea-surface temperatures from the subantarctic. The latter comparison suggests that, although the overall influence of NADW is relatively minor, the linkage may be much more significant at the 41 000-year obliquity period. Despite some limitations in the models and geological data, we conclude that NADW variations may have played only a modest role in causing late Pleistocene climate change in the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere. Our conclusion is consistent with calculations by Manabe and Broccoli (1985) suggesting that atmospheric CO2 changes may be more important for linking the two hemispheres.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andreas EL, Makshtas AP (1985) Energy exchange over Antarctic sea ice in the spring. J Geophys Res 90:7199–7212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andreas EL, Tucker WB, Ackley SF (1984) Atmospheric boundary-layer modification, drag coefficient, and surface heat flux in the Antarctic marginal ice zone. J Geophys Res 89:649–661.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyle EA (1984) Cadmium in benthic foraminifera and abyssal hydrography: evidence for a 41 KYR obliquity cycle. In: Hansen JE, Takahashi T (eds) Climate processes and climate sensitivity. Geophys Monogr 29, Am Geophys Union, Washington, DC pp 360–368.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyle EA, Keigwin LD (1982) Deep circulation of the North Atlantic over the last 200 000 years: geochemical evidence. Science 218:784–786

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyle EA, Keigwin LD (1985/1986) Comparison of Atlantic and Pacific paleochemical records for the last 215000 years: changes in deep ocean circulation and chemical inventories. Earth Planet Sci Lett 76:135–150

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyle EA, Keigwin LD (1987) North Atlantic thermohaline circulation during the past 20 000 years linked to high-latitude surface temperatures. Nature 330:35–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Broccoli AJ, Manabe S (1987) The influence of continental ice, atmospheric CO2, and land albedo on the climate of the last glacial maximum. Climate Dyn 1:87–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Broecker WS (1984) Terminations. In: Berger AL, Imbrie J, Hays J, Kukla G, Saltzman B (eds) Milankovitch and climate (Part II). Reidel, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp 687–698

    Google Scholar 

  • Broecker WS (1986) In quest of the radiocarbon age for deep ocean water during glacial time. EOS (Trans Am Geophys Union) 67:869

    Google Scholar 

  • Broecker WS, Peteet DM, Rind D (1985) Does the oceanatmosphere system have more than one stable mode of operation? Nature 315:21–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryden HL (1979) Poleward heat flux and conversion of available potential energy in the Drake Passage. J Mar Res 37:1–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Burckle LH, Robinson D, Cooke D (1982) Reappraisal of seaice distribution in Atlantic and Pacific sectors of the Southern Ocean at 18 000 yr BP. Nature 299:435–437

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavalieri DJ, Parkinson CL (1981) Large-scale variations in observed Antarctic sea ice extent and associated atmospheric circulation. Mon Weather Rev 109:2323–2336

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavalieri DJ, Zwally HJ (1985) Satellite observations of sea ice. Adv Space Res 5:247–255

    Google Scholar 

  • Chappell J, Shackleton NJ (1986) Oxygen isotopes and sea level. Nature 324:137–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiu LS (1983) Antarctic sea ice variations 1973–1980. In: Street-Perrott A, Beran M, Ratcliffe RAS (eds) Variations in the global water budget. Reidel, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp 301–311

    Google Scholar 

  • CLIMAP (1981) Seasonal reconstructions of the earth's surface temperature at the last glacial maximum. Geol Soc Am Map Chart Ser, MC-36

  • Cooke DW, Hays JD (1982) Estimates of Antarctic Ocean seasonal sea-ice cover during glacial intervals. In: Craddock C, Loveless JK, Vierima TL, Crawford KA (eds) Antarctic geoscience. Univ Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin, pp 1017–1025

    Google Scholar 

  • Corliss BH, Martinson DG, Keffer T (1986) Late Quaternary deep-ocean circulation. Geol Soc Am Bull 97:1106–1121

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowley TJ (1983) Calcium carbonate preservation patterns in the central North Atlantic during the last 150 000 years. Mar Geol 51:1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowley TJ, Parkinson CL (1988) Late Pleistocene variations in Antarctic sea ice I: effect of orbital insolation changes. Climate Dynam 3:85–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Curry WB, Duplessy J-C, Labeyrie LD, Shackleton NJ (1988) Changes in the distribution of δ13C of deep water ΣCO2 between the last glaciation and the Holocene. Paleoceanogr (in press)

  • DeAngelis M, Barkov NI, Petrov VN (1987) Aerosol concentrations over the last climatic cycle (160 kyr) from an Antarctic ice core. Nature 325:318–321

    Google Scholar 

  • Duplessy J-C, Shackleton NJ (1985) Response of global deepwater circulation to Earth's climatic change 135000–107000 years ago. Nature 316:500–507

    Google Scholar 

  • Duplessy J-C, Shackleton NJ, Matthews RK, Prell W, Ruddiman WF, Carolp M, Hendy CH (1984)13C record of benthic foraminifera in the last interglacial ocean: implications for the carbon cycle and the global deep water circulation. Quat Res 21:225–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Georgi DT (1981) On the relationship between the large-scale property variations and fine structure in the Circumpolar Deep Water. J Geophys Res 86:6556–6566

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghil M, Mullhaupt A, Pestiaux P (1987) Deep water formation and Quaternary glaciations. Climate Dyn 2:1–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon AL (1975) General ocean circulation. In: Numerical models of ocean circulation. Nat Acad Sci, Washington, DC, pp 39–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon AL (1981) Seasonality of Southern Ocean sea ice. J Geophys Res 86:4193–4197

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon AL (1986) Interocean exchange of thermocline water. J Geophys Res 91:5037–5046

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon AL, Goldberg RD (1970) Circumpolar characteristics of Antarctic waters. In: Bushnell VV (ed) Antarctic map folio series, Folio 15, Am Geogr Soc, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon AL, Huber BA (1984) Thermohaline stratification below the Southern Ocean sea ice. J Geophys Res 89:641–648

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon AL, Chen CTA, Metcalf WG (1984) Winter mixed layer entrainment of Weddell deep water. J Geophys Res 89:637–640

    Google Scholar 

  • Hastenrath S (1980) Heat budget of tropical ocean and atmosphere. J Phys Oceanogr 10:159–170

    Google Scholar 

  • Hays JD, Lozano JA, Shackleton N, Irving G (1976a) Reconstruction of the Atlantic and western Indian Ocean sectors of the 18000 B.P. Antarctic Ocean. Geol Soc Am Mem 145:337–372

    Google Scholar 

  • Hays JD, Imbrie J, Shackleton NJ (1976b) Variations in the earth's orbit: pacemaker of the ice ages. Science 194:1121–1132

    Google Scholar 

  • Hibler WD, Ackley SF (1983) Numerical simulation of the Weddell Sea pack ice. J Geophys Res 88:2873–2887

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoflich O (1984) Climate of the South Atlantic Ocean. In: van Loon H (ed) World survey of climatology, vol 15: Climates of the oceans. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp 1–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Imbrie J, et al. (1984) The orbital theory of Pleistocene climate: Support from a revised chronology of the marine δ18O record. In: Berger AL, Imbrie J, Hays J, Kukla G, Saltzman B (eds) Milankovitch and climate. Reidel, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp 269–305

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones PD, Wigley TML, Raper SCB (1987) The rapidity of CO2-induced climatic change: observations, model results, and paleoclimatic implications. In: Berger WH, Labeyrie LD (eds) Abrupt climatic changes. Reidel, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp 47–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Labeyrie LD, Pichon JJ, Labracherie M, Ippolito P, Duprot J, Duplessy JC (1986) Melting history of Antarctica during the past 60 000 years. Nature 322:701–706

    Google Scholar 

  • Manabe S, Broccoli AJ (1985) A comparison of climate model sensitivity with data from the last glacial maximum. J Atmos Sci 42:2643–2651

    Google Scholar 

  • Manabe S, Bryan K (1985) CO2-induced change in a coupled ocean-atmosphere model and its paleoclimatic implications. J Geophys Res 90:11689–11708

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinson DG, Killworth PD, Gordon AL (1981) A convective model for the Weddell polynya. J Phys Oceanog 11:466–488

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinson DG, Pisias NG, Hays JD, Imbrie J, Moore TC, Shackleton NJ (1987) Age dating and the orbital theory of the ice ages: development of a high-resolution 0 to 300 000-year chronostratigraphy. Quat Res 27:1–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Maykut GA, Untersteiner N (1971) Some results from a timedependent thermodynamic model of sea ice. J Geophys Res 76:1550–1575

    Google Scholar 

  • Neftel A, Oeschger H, Schwander J, Stauffer B, Zumbrunn R (1982) Ice core sample measurements give atmospheric CO2 content during the past 40 000 years. Nature 295:220–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Neftel A, Moor E, Oeschger H, Stauffer B (1985) Evidence from polarice cores for the increase in atmospheric CO2 in the past two centuries. Nature 315:45–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Oppo DW, Fairbanks RG (1987) Variability in the deep and intermediate water circulation during the past 25 000 years: Northern Hemisphere modulation of the Southern Ocean. Earth Planet Sci Lett 86:1–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson CL (1983) On the development and cause of the Weddell Polynya in a sea ice simulation J Phys Oceanogr 13:501–511

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson CL, Bindschadler RA (1984) Response of Antarctic sea ice to uniform atmospheric temperature increases. In: Hansen JE, Takahashi T (eds) Climate processes and climate sensitivity, Geophys Monogr 29, Am Geophys Union, Washington, DC, pp 254–264

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson CL, Cavalieri DJ (1982) Interannual sea-ice variations and sea-ice/atmosphere interactions in the Southern Ocean, 1973–1975. Ann Glaciol 3:249–254

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson CL, Washington WM (1979) A large-scale numerical model of sea ice. J Geophys Res 84:311–337

    Google Scholar 

  • Petit JR, Briat M, Royer A (1981) Ice age aerosol content from East Antarctic ice core samples and past wind strength. Nature 293:391–394

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid JL, Lynn R (1971) On the influence of the Norwegian-Greenland and Weddell Seas upon the bottom waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Deep-Sea Res 18:1063–1068

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger ME, Mitchell JFB (1985) Model projections of the equilibrium climatic response to increased carbon dioxide. In: MacCracken MC, Luther FM (eds) Projecting the climate effects of increasing carbon dioxide. US Dept of Energy Pub DOE/ER-0237, pp 81–147

  • Shackleton NJ, Pisias NG (1985) Atmospheric carbon dioxide, orbital forcing, and climate. In: Sundquist ET, Broecker WS (eds) The carbon cycle and atmospheric CO2: natural variations Archean to present, Geophys Monogr 32, Am Geophys Union, Washington, DC, pp 303–317

    Google Scholar 

  • Spelman MJ, Manabe S (1984) Influence of oceanic heat transport upon the sensitivity of a model climate. J Geophys Res 89:571–586

    Google Scholar 

  • Streten NA, Zillman JW (1984) Climate of the South Pacific Ocean. In: van Loon H (ed) World survey of climatology, vol 15: Climate of the oceans. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp 263–429

    Google Scholar 

  • Taljaard JJ, van Loon H (1984) Climate of the Indian Ocean south of 35°S. In: van Loon H (ed) World survey of climatology, vol 15: Climate of the oceans. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp 505–601

    Google Scholar 

  • Trenberth KE (1979) Mean annual poleward energy transports by the oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. Dyn Atmos Ocean 4:57–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Weyl PK (1968) The role of the oceans in climatic change: a theory of ice ages. Meteorol Monogr 8:37–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Zwally HJ, Comiso JC, Parkinson CL, Campbell WJ, Carsey FD, Gloersen P (1983) Antarctic sea ice 1973–1976: Satellite passive-microwave observations, NASA Special Publications SP-459, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC, 206 pp

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Research Corporation, ARC Technologies, 305 Arguello Drive, 77840, College Station, TX, USA

    Thomas J Crowley

  2. Laboratory for Oceans, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, 20771, Greenbelt, MD, USA

    Claire L Parkinson

Authors
  1. Thomas J Crowley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Claire L Parkinson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Crowley, T.J., Parkinson, C.L. Late Pleistocene variations in Antarctic sea ice II: effect of interhemispheric deep-ocean heat exchange. Climate Dynamics 3, 93–103 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01080903

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01080903

Keywords

Search

Navigation