Articles | Volume 19, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-731-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-731-2023
Research article
 | 
31 Mar 2023
Research article |  | 31 Mar 2023

How changing the height of the Antarctic ice sheet affects global climate: a mid-Pliocene case study

Xiaofang Huang, Shiling Yang, Alan Haywood, Julia Tindall, Dabang Jiang, Yongda Wang, Minmin Sun, and Shihao Zhang

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Cited articles

Austermann, J., Pollard, D., Mitrovica, J. X., Moucha, R., Forte, A. M., DeConto, R. M., Rowley, D. B., and Raymo, M. E.: The impact of dynamic topography change on Antarctic ice sheet stability during the mid-Pliocene warm period, Geology, 43, 927–930, https://doi.org/10.1130/G36988.1, 2015. 
Baatsen, M. L. J., von der Heydt, A. S., Kliphuis, M. A., Oldeman, A. M., and Weiffenbach, J. E.: Warm mid-Pliocene conditions without high climate sensitivity: the CCSM4-Utrecht (CESM 1.0.5) contribution to the PlioMIP2, Clim. Past, 18, 657–679, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-657-2022, 2022. 
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Bragg, F. J., Lunt, D. J., and Haywood, A. M.: Mid-Pliocene climate modelled using the UK Hadley Centre Model: PlioMIP Experiments 1 and 2, Geosci. Model Dev., 5, 1109–1125, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-5-1109-2012, 2012. 
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Short summary
The sensitivity of climate to the height changes of the East Antarctic ice sheet (EAIS) during the mid-Pliocene has been assessed using the HadCM3 model. The results show that the height reduction of the EAIS leads to a warmer and wetter East Antarctica. However, unintuitively, both the surface air temperature and the sea surface temperature decrease over the rest of the globe. These findings could provide insights into future changes caused by warming-induced decay of the Antarctic ice sheet.
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