Modelling oxygen isotopes in the UVic Earth System Climate Model under preindustrial and Last Glacial Maximum conditions: impact of glacial-interglacial sea ice variability on seawater d18O

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dc.contributor.authorBrennan, Catherine Elizabeth
dc.contributor.supervisorWeaver, Andrew
dc.contributor.supervisorMeissner, Katrin
dc.date.accessioned2012-09-10T22:07:37Z
dc.date.available2012-09-10T22:07:37Z
dc.date.copyright2012en_US
dc.date.issued2012-09-10
dc.degree.departmentSchool of Earth and Ocean Sciencesen_US
dc.degree.levelDoctor of Philosophy Ph.D.en_US
dc.description.abstractImplementing oxygen isotopes (H218O, H216O) in coupled climate models provides both an important test of the individual model's hydrological cycle, and a powerful tool to mechanistically explore past climate changes while producing results directly comparable to isotope proxy records. The addition of oxygen isotopes in the University of Victoria Earth System Climate Model (UVic ESCM) is described. Equilibrium simulations are performed for preindustrial and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) conditions. The oxygen isotope content in the model's preindustrial climate is compared against observations for precipitation and seawater. The distribution of oxygen isotopes during the LGM is compared against available paleo-reconstructions. Records of temporal variability in the oxygen isotopic composition of biogenic carbonates from ocean sediment cores inform our understanding of past continental ice volume and ocean temperatures. Interpretation of biogenic carbonate d18O variability typically neglects changes due to factors other than ice volume and temperature, equivalent to assuming constant local seawater isotopic composition. This investigation focuses on whether sea ice, which fractionates seawater during its formation, could shift the isotopic value of seawater during distinct climates. Glacial and interglacial states are simulated with the isotope-enabled UVic ESCM, and a global analysis is performed. Results indicate that interglacial-glacial sea ice variability produces as much as a 0.13 permil shift in local seawater, which corresponds to a potential error in local paleotemperature reconstruction of approximately 0.5 C. Isotopic shifts due to sea ice variability are concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere, specifically in the Labrador Sea and northeastern North Atlantic.en_US
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.bibliographicCitationBrennan, C.E., A.J. Weaver, M. Eby, and K.J. Meissner, Modelling oxygen isotopes in the University of Victoria Earth System Climate Model for preindustrial and Last Glacial Maximum Conditions, Atmosphere-Ocean, doi:10.1080/07055900.2012.707611, 2012 (in press).en_US
dc.identifier.bibliographicCitationBrennan, C.E., K.J. Meissner, M. Eby, C. Hillaire-Marcel, and A.J. Weaver, Impact of sea ice variability on the oxygen isotope content of seawater under glacial and interglacial conditions, Paleoceanography, manuscript 2012PA002385, 2012 (submitted). Reproduced by permission of American Geophysical Union.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/4261
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rights.tempAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.subjectoxygen isotopesen_US
dc.subjectsea iceen_US
dc.subjectglacialen_US
dc.subjectinterglacialen_US
dc.subjectpreindustrialen_US
dc.subjectLast Glacial Maximumen_US
dc.titleModelling oxygen isotopes in the UVic Earth System Climate Model under preindustrial and Last Glacial Maximum conditions: impact of glacial-interglacial sea ice variability on seawater d18Oen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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