Uncertainty in Reconstructing Paleo‐Elevation of the Antarctic Ice Sheet From Temperature‐Sensitive Ice Core Records

Autor(en)

J. A. Badgeley, E. J. Steig, M. Dütsch

Abstrakt

Paleotemperature reconstructions from ice cores are mixed signals of changes in climate and ice-surface elevation. A common, temperature-based paleoaltimetry method suggests these signals can be disentangled by comparing two proxy locations with similar climates. The difference between the records is assumed to be due to elevation, which is estimated by scaling the temperature difference by a lapse rate. We investigate the uncertainty associated with this approach using a case study of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum. From an ensemble of climate simulations, we extract modeled temperatures at locations of real ice cores. We find uncertainty on the order of hundreds of meters that results from spatial heterogeneity in non-adiabatic temperature change, which itself stems in part from elevation-induced atmospheric circulation change. Our findings suggest that caution is needed when interpreting temperature-based paleoaltimetry results for ice sheets.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Meteorologie und Geophysik

Externe Organisation(en)

University of Washington

Journal

Geophysical Research Letters

Band

49

ISSN

0094-8276

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL100334

Publikationsdatum

12-2022

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

105204 Klimatologie

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Geophysics, Allgemeine Erdkunde und Planetologie

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/5cfb108d-6972-40c3-8fdc-584c2cb3a7f0