Constraining future Antarctic ice loss with the coupled ice-ocean model PISM-FESOM

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Ricarda Winkelmann
• Subject Area: Oceanography
• Term: from 2017 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 365777940

The target of the envisaged project is an interactively coupled ice-ocean model system capable of resolving dynamic processes in and around Antarctica on a horizontal scale of up to 1km. The Antarctic ice sheet responds on timescales that are longer than those of climate variability. As it is never in equilibrium, the ice-sheet component requires a high-resolution spin-up procedure that provides a realistic configuration of the present-day Antarctic Ice Sheet and at the same time accounts for the long-term drift as delayed response to the climate conditions during the last glacial cycles. We will perform coupled simulations with future climate forcing, which will provide estimates of the future sea level contribution from the Antarctic Ice Sheet on centennial time scales that are constrained by the conservation of energy and include the drift from the last glacial cycles. The coupled PISM-FESOM model will allow us to assess whether large-scale warm water inflow as projected in uni-directional simulations is realistic under the dynamic response of the ice sheet. Particular focus will be given to the vulnerability of the floating ice shelves, which act as the main contact interface between ice and ocean.

• DFG Programme: Infrastructure Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1158: Infrastructure area - Antarctic Research with Comparative Investigations in Arctic Sea Ice Areas
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Ralph Timmermann