The Nonlinear and Distinct Responses of Ocean Heat Content and Anthropogenic Carbon to Ice Sheet Freshwater Discharge in a Warming Climate
Abstract Anthropogenic climate change will drive extensive mass loss across both the Antarctic (AIS) and Greenland Ice Sheets (GrIS), with the potential for global climate system feedbacks, especially in polar regions. Historically, the high‐latitude North Atlantic and Southern Ocean have been criti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Earth's Future |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EF004475 |
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| author | Tessa Gorte Nicole S. Lovenduski Cara Nissen Jan T. M. Lenaerts Jeffrey B. Weiss |
| author_facet | Tessa Gorte Nicole S. Lovenduski Cara Nissen Jan T. M. Lenaerts Jeffrey B. Weiss |
| author_sort | Tessa Gorte |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Anthropogenic climate change will drive extensive mass loss across both the Antarctic (AIS) and Greenland Ice Sheets (GrIS), with the potential for global climate system feedbacks, especially in polar regions. Historically, the high‐latitude North Atlantic and Southern Ocean have been critical regions for anthropogenic heat and carbon uptake, but our understanding of how this uptake will be altered by future freshwater discharge is incomplete. We assess each ice sheet's impact on global ocean anthropogenic heat and carbon storage for a high‐emission scenario over the 21st‐century using a coupled Earth system model. We explore the impact of contemporaneous mass loss from both ice sheets on anthropogenic heat and carbon storage and quantify their linear and nonlinear contributions. Notably, added freshwater reduces ocean heat and carbon storage by 2,100, and the sum of individual freshwater effects differ from those induced by simultaneous freshwater discharge from both ice sheets. Combined AIS and GrIS freshwater engenders distinct anthropogenic storage anomalies—particularly in the high‐latitude Southern Ocean and North Atlantic. From 2080 to 2100, GrIS freshwater exerts primary control on the temporal evolution of global ocean heat storage, while global ocean carbon storage is modulated by the linear AIS and GrIS freshwater impacts. Nonlinear impacts of simultaneous ice sheet discharge have a non‐negligible contribution to the evolution of global ocean heat storage. Further, anthropogenic heat changes are realized more quickly in response to ice sheet discharge than anthropogenic carbon. Our results highlight the need to incorporate both ice sheets actively in climate models to accurately project future global climate. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-210d856cc7af4d6d81feca9ab2bbbc11 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2328-4277 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Earth's Future |
| spelling | doaj-art-210d856cc7af4d6d81feca9ab2bbbc112024-12-10T08:50:40ZengWileyEarth's Future2328-42772024-11-011211n/an/a10.1029/2024EF004475The Nonlinear and Distinct Responses of Ocean Heat Content and Anthropogenic Carbon to Ice Sheet Freshwater Discharge in a Warming ClimateTessa Gorte0Nicole S. Lovenduski1Cara Nissen2Jan T. M. Lenaerts3Jeffrey B. Weiss4Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USAAbstract Anthropogenic climate change will drive extensive mass loss across both the Antarctic (AIS) and Greenland Ice Sheets (GrIS), with the potential for global climate system feedbacks, especially in polar regions. Historically, the high‐latitude North Atlantic and Southern Ocean have been critical regions for anthropogenic heat and carbon uptake, but our understanding of how this uptake will be altered by future freshwater discharge is incomplete. We assess each ice sheet's impact on global ocean anthropogenic heat and carbon storage for a high‐emission scenario over the 21st‐century using a coupled Earth system model. We explore the impact of contemporaneous mass loss from both ice sheets on anthropogenic heat and carbon storage and quantify their linear and nonlinear contributions. Notably, added freshwater reduces ocean heat and carbon storage by 2,100, and the sum of individual freshwater effects differ from those induced by simultaneous freshwater discharge from both ice sheets. Combined AIS and GrIS freshwater engenders distinct anthropogenic storage anomalies—particularly in the high‐latitude Southern Ocean and North Atlantic. From 2080 to 2100, GrIS freshwater exerts primary control on the temporal evolution of global ocean heat storage, while global ocean carbon storage is modulated by the linear AIS and GrIS freshwater impacts. Nonlinear impacts of simultaneous ice sheet discharge have a non‐negligible contribution to the evolution of global ocean heat storage. Further, anthropogenic heat changes are realized more quickly in response to ice sheet discharge than anthropogenic carbon. Our results highlight the need to incorporate both ice sheets actively in climate models to accurately project future global climate.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EF004475AntarcticaGreenlandocean heat contentocean carbon contentclimate modellinearity |
| spellingShingle | Tessa Gorte Nicole S. Lovenduski Cara Nissen Jan T. M. Lenaerts Jeffrey B. Weiss The Nonlinear and Distinct Responses of Ocean Heat Content and Anthropogenic Carbon to Ice Sheet Freshwater Discharge in a Warming Climate Earth's Future Antarctica Greenland ocean heat content ocean carbon content climate model linearity |
| title | The Nonlinear and Distinct Responses of Ocean Heat Content and Anthropogenic Carbon to Ice Sheet Freshwater Discharge in a Warming Climate |
| title_full | The Nonlinear and Distinct Responses of Ocean Heat Content and Anthropogenic Carbon to Ice Sheet Freshwater Discharge in a Warming Climate |
| title_fullStr | The Nonlinear and Distinct Responses of Ocean Heat Content and Anthropogenic Carbon to Ice Sheet Freshwater Discharge in a Warming Climate |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Nonlinear and Distinct Responses of Ocean Heat Content and Anthropogenic Carbon to Ice Sheet Freshwater Discharge in a Warming Climate |
| title_short | The Nonlinear and Distinct Responses of Ocean Heat Content and Anthropogenic Carbon to Ice Sheet Freshwater Discharge in a Warming Climate |
| title_sort | nonlinear and distinct responses of ocean heat content and anthropogenic carbon to ice sheet freshwater discharge in a warming climate |
| topic | Antarctica Greenland ocean heat content ocean carbon content climate model linearity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EF004475 |
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