Comparison of climate model results with European vegetation and permafrost during oxygen isotope stage three

Oxygen isotope stage 3 (OIS3), an interstade between approximately 60,000 and 25,000 yr B.P., presents an ideal opportunity to compare high-resolution climate simulations with the geologic record. To facilitate this comparison, the results of a mesoscale climate model (RegCM2) embedded in the GENESIS GCM are utilized to drive a vegetation model (BIOME 3.5). The BIOME output is then compared with OIS3 compilations derived from pollen. The simulated biomes agree well with the pollen-based biomes in southern Europe; however, disagreements occur in the northern part of the domain. The most striking mismatch involves the distribution of tundra. The models fail to have tundra extend to its observed position as far south as 50°N in central Europe during OIS3. The model also fails to have permafrost extend southward to its observed position between 50°N and 55°N in western Europe during OIS3. A variety of sensitivity experiments are performed to investigate these mismatches. These experiments demonstrate the importance of annual and summer temperatures and the length of the winter season in creating improved matches between the model results and the inferred distributions of vegetation and permafrost in northern Europe.

Arctic · Biome · Climate change · Climate model · Climatology · Ecosystem · Geography · Interglacial · Isotopes of oxygen · Marine isotope stage · Permafrost · Physical geography · Quaternary · Tundra · Vegetation (pathology) · Climate change and permafrost · Cryospheric studies and observations · Ecology · Geology · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Oceanography · Paleontology

• European vegetation during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage-3

  Open Access•Brian Huntley, Mary Jo Alfano et al.•Quaternary Research•2003

  Añadir item

• State‐of‐the‐art with regional climate models

  Open Access•Markku Rummukainen•Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews…•2009

  Añadir item

• An overview of Alpine and Mediterranean palaeogeography, terrestrial ecosystems and climate history during MIS 3 with focus on the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition

  Open Access•Federica Badino, Roberta Pini et al.•Quaternary International•2020

  Añadir item

• The late Quaternary loess record of Tokaj, Hungary

  Open Access•Ann-Kathrin Schatz, Michael Zech et al.•Quaternary International•2011

  Añadir item

• A palaeoenvironmental record of MIS 3 climate change in NE Poland—Sedimentary and geochemical evidence

  Open Access•Barbara Woronko, Tomasz M Karasiewicz et al.•Quaternary International•2022

  Añadir item

• The Climate and Landscape of the Middle Part of the Weichselian Glaciation in Europe

  Open Access•Tjeerd H Van Andel•Quaternary Research•2002

  Añadir item

• High-Resolution Climate Simulations of Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 in Europe

  Open Access•Eric Barron, Eric J Barron et al.•Quaternary Research•2002

  Añadir item

• Palaeolithic landscapes of Europe and environs, 150,000-25,000 years ago

  Open Access•Tinde R Van Andel, T Van Andel•Quaternary Science Reviews•1996

  Añadir item

• Grande Pile Peat Bog

  Open Access•Geneviève M Woillard, Geneviève Woillard•Quaternary Research•1978

  Añadir item

• A 140,000-year continental climate reconstruction from two European pollen records

  Open Access•Joël Guiot, A Pons et al.•Nature•1989

  Añadir item

• Palynostratigraphy of the Last Glacial Period in the Volcanic Region of Central Italy

  Open Access•M Follieri, M Giardini et al.•Quaternary International•1998

  Añadir item

• Long Pleistocene pollen sequences from the Velay Plateau (Massif Central, France)

  Open Access•J-L De Beaulieu, Maurice Reille•Vegetation History and…•1992

  Añadir item

• Climates of the polar regions

  Open Access•Colin Bull•Geoforum•1973

  Añadir item