Collaborative Research: Nested GCM/Mesoscale Model Studies of Large, Rapid Holocene and Late-Glacial Climate Changes: Synthesis With the Greenland Ice Core Records

ABSTRACT OPP-9614927 OPP-9614907 ALLEY, RICHARD FAWCETT, PETER PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY This research project uses a mesoscale climate model in conjunction with a General Circulation Model (GCM) to examine the cause of two extremely rapid coolings that have been found in paleoclimate records of the Northern Hemisphere. Those coolings cannot be explained by the same mechanisms that account for the major glacial episodes and represent an important clue to the way that climate change occurs. The modeling effort will be validated using the paleoclimate record recovered recently from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project Two ice cores taken near the summit of the Greenland ice cap. The results of this study will enhance the knowledge of climate system feedback mechanisms that could produce a rapid, dramatic shift in Northern Hemisphere temperatures and a drop in global sealevel that would affect human activities around the world.