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Closed ocean gateways in the Canadian archipelago are key to glaciation in Scandinavia

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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Fig. 1: Ice sheet extent and surface temperature anomaly with closed ocean gateways in the Canadian archipelago.

References

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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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