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MIS-11 duration key to disappearance of the Greenland ice sheet

Author

Listed:
  • Alexander Robinson

    (Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    Instituto de Geociencias, CSIC-UCM
    Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)

  • Jorge Alvarez-Solas

    (Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    Instituto de Geociencias, CSIC-UCM)

  • Reinhard Calov

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)

  • Andrey Ganopolski

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)

  • Marisa Montoya

    (Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    Instituto de Geociencias, CSIC-UCM)

Abstract

Palaeo data suggest that Greenland must have been largely ice free during Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS-11). However, regional summer insolation anomalies were modest during this time compared to MIS-5e, when the Greenland ice sheet likely lost less volume. Thus it remains unclear how such conditions led to an almost complete disappearance of the ice sheet. Here we use transient climate–ice sheet simulations to simultaneously constrain estimates of regional temperature anomalies and Greenland’s contribution to the MIS-11 sea-level highstand. We find that Greenland contributed 6.1 m (3.9–7.0 m, 95% credible interval) to sea level, ∼7 kyr after the peak in regional summer temperature anomalies of 2.8 °C (2.1–3.4 °C). The moderate warming produced a mean rate of mass loss in sea-level equivalent of only around 0.4 m per kyr, which means the long duration of MIS-11 interglacial conditions around Greenland was a necessary condition for the ice sheet to disappear almost completely.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander Robinson & Jorge Alvarez-Solas & Reinhard Calov & Andrey Ganopolski & Marisa Montoya, 2017. "MIS-11 duration key to disappearance of the Greenland ice sheet," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-7, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms16008
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms16008
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    Cited by:

    1. Ilaria Tabone & Alexander Robinson & Marisa Montoya & Jorge Alvarez-Solas, 2024. "Holocene thinning in central Greenland controlled by the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Hsun-Ming Hu & Gianluca Marino & Carlos Pérez-Mejías & Christoph Spötl & Yusuke Yokoyama & Jimin Yu & Eelco Rohling & Akihiro Kano & Patrick Ludwig & Joaquim G. Pinto & Véronique Michel & Patricia Val, 2024. "Sustained North Atlantic warming drove anomalously intense MIS 11c interglacial," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.

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