Simulation and analysis of abrupt climate change during the last glacial

With our project, we would like to address the cause of abrupt climate changes that occurred during the last glacial. While the so-called Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events are documented in various climate archives, little evidence exists concerning their trigger. In particular, the origin of the characteristic time scale of ~1470 years that is apparently inherent in the events has not yet been successfully identified.In the first part of the project, we plan to analyse possible process chains by which a moderate temperature anomaly in the North Atlantic region can trigger abrupt shifts of the thermohaline circulation (THC) in an intermediate-complexity climate system model. We will further investigate to what degree DO events can be simulated by a response of the THC to century-scale variations in solar activity.In the second part of the project, we will validate key results of the first year by a comparison of our model simulations with paleodata from various climate archives and with results from a more complex follow-up model.

DFG-Verfahren Sachbeihilfen

Beteiligte Personen Dr. Andrey Ganopolski; Professor Dr. Kurt Roth