Antarctic climate response in Last Interglacial simulations using the Community Earth System Model (CESM2)

We examine results from two transient modeling experiments that simulate the Last Interglacial period (LIG) using the state-of-the-art Community Earth System Model (CESM2), with a focus on climate and ocean changes relevant to the possible collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet. The experiments simulate the early millennia of the LIG warm period using orbital forcing, greenhouse gas concentrations, and vegetation appropriate for 127 ka. In the first case (127ka), no other changes are made; in the second case (127kaFW), we include a 0.2 Sv freshwater forcing in the North Atlantic. Both are compared with a pre-industrial control simulation (piControl). In the 127ka simulation, the global average temperature is only marginally warmer (0.004 °C) than in the piControl. When freshwater forcing is added (127kaFW), there is surface cooling in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and warming in the Southern Hemisphere (SH), consistent with the bipolar seesaw effect. Near the Antarctic ice sheet, the 127ka simulation generates notable ocean warming (up to 0.4 °C) at depths below 200 m compared to the piControl. In contrast, the addition of freshwater in the North Atlantic in the 127kaFW run results in a multi-century subsurface ocean cooling that rebounds slowly over multiple millennia near the Antarctic ice sheet. These results have implications for the thermal forcing (and thereby mass balance) of the Antarctic ice sheet. We explore the physical processes that lead to this result and discuss implications for climate forcing of Antarctic ice sheet mass loss during the LIG.

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Related Dataset #1 : NCAR CESM2-FV2 model output prepared for CMIP6 CMIP piControl

Related Dataset #2 : CESM2 Last Interglacial at 127ka control

Related Dataset #3 : CESM2 lig127ka FW simulations

Related Software #1 : Community Earth System Model - CESM2.0

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Author Berdahl, M.
Leguy, Gunter
Lipscomb, William
Otto-Bliesner, Bette
Brady, Esther C.
Tomas, Robert A.
Urban, N. M.
I. Miller
Morgan, H.
Steig, E. J.
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2024-10-24T00:00:00
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Not Assigned
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Topic Category geoscientificInformation
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Metadata Date 2025-07-10T19:57:55.617451
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:42253
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Berdahl, M., Leguy, Gunter, Lipscomb, William, Otto-Bliesner, Bette, Brady, Esther C., Tomas, Robert A., Urban, N. M., I. Miller, Morgan, H., Steig, E. J.. (2024). Antarctic climate response in Last Interglacial simulations using the Community Earth System Model (CESM2). UCAR/NCAR - Library. https://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7jq159t. Accessed 01 August 2025.

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