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Calov & Ganopolski 2005
Calov, R. and Ganopolski, A. (2005). Multistability and hysteresis in the climate-cryosphere system under orbital forcing. Geophysical Research Letters 32: doi: 10.1029/2005GL024518. issn: 0094-8276.

Using the Earth system model of intermediate complexity CLIMBER-2 we studied the stability diagram of the climate-cryosphere system in the phase space of Milankovitch forcing (maximum summer insolation at 65¿N, abbreviated as MF). We have shown that the equilibrium response of the climate-cyrosphere system to MF reveals pronounced hysteresis behavior within the range of Earth's orbital parameters. Depending on MF, the climate-cryosphere system has either one (glacial or interglacial) or two different equilibrium states. The MF thresholds of the transitions between the two states depend on parameterizations of ice-sheet dynamics, but are rather insensitive to the choice of the orbital parameters used to obtain the same value of MF. A change of atmospheric CO2 concentration from its interglacial to the glacial value, shifts the hysteresis curve by about 15 W/m2. These results provide an important support to the conceptual models of glacial cycles based on multistability and hysteresis behavior.

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Abstract

Keywords
Cryosphere, Ice sheets, Global Change, Cryospheric change, Global Change, Earth system modeling
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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