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Nature volume 479, pages E2–E4 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Replying to L. C. Sime & E. W. Wolff Nature 479, 10.1038/nature10613 (2011).

Sime and Wolff1 discuss our local hypothesis for the orbital variability in Antarctic ice cores2 by analysing the stability of Antarctic accumulation as simulated by the HadAM3 atmosphere general circulation model (GCM). They propose that a shift of the accumulation maximum towards austral summer in colder climates could dominate the weighted insolation and therefore mask the relationship of the accumulation-weighted signal and Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. We show that the applied model approach is inappropriate to evaluate the accumulation seasonality as current global GCMs are not skilful at modelling present and past accumulation seasonality at the core sites. Furthermore, time variability in accumulation seasonality can weaken or strengthen the accumulation-weighting hypothesis, depending on the time evolution of the seasonality changes.

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Figure 1: Model dependence of accumulation seasonality and effects of seasonality instability.

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References

  1. Sime, L. C. & Wolff, E. W. Antarctic accumulation seasonality. Nature 479 10.1038/nature10613 (2011)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Thomas Laepple, Martin Werner & Gerrit Lohman

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  1. Thomas Laepple
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  2. Martin Werner
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  3. Gerrit Lohman
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Correspondence to Thomas Laepple.

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Laepple, T., Werner, M. & Lohman, G. Laepple et al. reply. Nature 479, E2–E4 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10614

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