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Lewis et al. 2006
Lewis, J.P., Weaver, A.J. and Eby, M. (2006). Deglaciating the snowball Earth: Sensitivity to surface albedo. Geophysical Research Letters 33: doi: 10.1029/2006GL027774. issn: 0094-8276.

The accepted values for both snow and ice albedo cover a large range, which is reflected in the values used in models studying the Neoproterozoic snowball Earth. The variation in these parameters can have a significant impact on modeling results and are often not explored within the modelling studies. Here we attempt to quantify the relative sensitivity of different surface albedos, using the University of Victoria's Earth System Climate Model, to deglaciating the snowball Earth. We investigate the sensitivity of ice, snow, and land albedo on the minimum CO2 greenhouse forcing required for deglaciating the Neoproterozoic snowball Earth. We find that the amount of CO2 forcing required for deglaciation can vary by nearly an order of magnitude within accepted albedo ranges.

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Biogeosciences, Paleoclimatology and paleoceanography (3344, 4900), Cryosphere, General or miscellaneous, Atmospheric Processes, Paleoclimatology (0473, 4900), Paleoceanography, Albedo, Paleoceanography, Global climate models (1626, 3337)
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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