In a simulation with a state-of-the-art climate model, obstruction of the ocean gateways in the Canadian archipelago due to ice-sheet growth reroutes currents and alters North Atlantic Ocean conditions, permitting glacial inception in Scandinavia. This mechanism could help to explain periods of rapid ice-sheet growth in Earth’s history.
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References
Past Interglacials Working Group of PAGES. Interglacials of the last 800,000 years. Rev. Geophys. 54, 162–219 (2016). A review article on interglacial climates.
Born, A., Kageyama, M. & Nisancioglu, K. Warm Nordic Seas delayed glacial inception in Scandinavia. Clim. Past. 6, 817–826 (2010). This paper shows modelling evidence that Scandinavia remains too warm for glacial inception to occur in periods of low summer radiation.
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This is a summary of: Lofverstrom, M. et al. The importance of Canadian Arctic Archipelago gateways for glacial expansion in Scandinavia. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00956-9 (2022).
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Closed ocean gateways in the Canadian archipelago are key to glaciation in Scandinavia. Nat. Geosci. 15, 436–437 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00959-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00959-6