Simulation and analysis of abrupt climate change during the last glacial

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Augusto Mangini
• Subject Area: Atmospheric Science
• Term: from 2006 to 2010
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 26394725

With our project, we would like to address the cause of abrupt climate changes that occurred during the last glacial. While the so-called Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events are documented in various climate archives, little evidence exists concerning their trigger. In particular, the origin of the characteristic time scale of ~1470 years that is apparently inherent in the events has not yet been successfully identified.In the first part of the project, we plan to analyse possible process chains by which a moderate temperature anomaly in the North Atlantic region can trigger abrupt shifts of the thermohaline circulation (THC) in an intermediate-complexity climate system model. We will further investigate to what degree DO events can be simulated by a response of the THC to century-scale variations in solar activity.In the second part of the project, we will validate key results of the first year by a comparison of our model simulations with paleodata from various climate archives and with results from a more complex follow-up model.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Persons: Dr. Andrey Ganopolski; Professor Dr. Kurt Roth