The tropical lapse rate steepened during the Last Glacial Maximum

Loomis, S. E.; Russell, J. M.; Verschuren, D.; Morrill, C.; De Cort, G.; Damste, J. S. S.; Olago, D.; Eggermont, H.; Street-Perrott, F. A.; Kelly, M. A.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.1600815

[PDF-474.32 KB]

Details:

Personal Author:

Loomis, S. E. ; Russell, J. M. ; Verschuren, D. ; Morrill, C. ; De Cort, G. ; ... More ▼

Description:

The gradient of air temperature with elevation (the temperature lapse rate) in the tropics is predicted to become less steep during the coming century as surface temperature rises, enhancing the threat of warming in high-mountain environments. However, the sensitivity of the lapse rate to climate change is uncertain because of poor constraints on high-elevation temperature during past climate states. We present a 25,000-year temperature reconstruction from Mount Kenya, East Africa, which demonstrates that cooling during the Last Glacial Maximum was amplified with elevation and hence that the lapse rate was significantly steeper than today. Comparison of our data with paleoclimate simulations indicates that state-of-the-art models underestimate this lapse-rate change. Consequently, future high-elevation tropical warming may be even greater than predicted.

DOI:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1600815

Document Type:

Journal Article

Collection(s):

National Environmental Satellite and Data Information Service (NESDIS)

Main Document Checksum:

[+]

Supporting Files:

No Additional Files

You May Also Like:

Projections of the future disappearance of the Quelccaya Ice Cap in the Central Andes

Personal Author:

Yarleque, Christian; Vuille, Mathias; Hardy, Douglas R., 1957-; Timm, Oliver Elison; De la Cruz, Jorge; Ramos, Hugo; Rabatel, Antoine;

Published Date:

2018

Source:

Scientific Reports 8 (15564)

Description:

We analyze the future state of Quelccaya Ice Cap (QIC), the world's largest tropical ice cap with a summit elevation of 5680 m a.s.l., which, in terms of its elevation range (similar to 5300-5680 m a.s.l.), is representative of many low-elevation gla...

File Type:

[PDF - 2.31 MB]
PRYSM v2 . 0: A Proxy System Model for Lacustrine Archives

Personal Author:

Dee, S. G.; Russell, J. M.; Morrill, C.; Chen, Z. H.; Neary, A.;

Published Date:

2018

Source:

Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 33(11), 1250-1269.

Description:

Reconstructions of temperature and hydrology from lake sedimentary archives have made fundamental contributions to our understanding of past, present, and future climate and help evaluate general circulation models (GCMs). However, because paleoclima...

File Type:

[PDF - 2.91 MB]
Thermodynamic and Dynamic Causes of Pluvial Conditions During the Last Glacial Maximum in Western North America

Personal Author:

Morrill, C.; Lowry, D. P.; Hoell, A.;

Published Date:

2018

Source:

Geophysical Research Letters, 45(1), 335-345.

Description:

During the last glacial period, precipitation minus evaporation increased across the currently arid western United States. These pluvial conditions have been commonly explained for decades by a southward deflection of the jet stream by the Laurentide...

File Type:

[PDF - 1.14 MB]
An Overview of Interactions and Feedbacks Between Ice Sheets and the Earth System

Personal Author:

Fyke, J.; Sergienko, O.; Lofverstrom, M.; Price, S.; Lenaerts, J. T. M.;

Published Date:

2018

Source:

Reviews of Geophysics, 56(2), 361-408.

Description:

Ice sheet response to forced changessuch as that from anthropogenic climate forcingis closely regulated by two-way interactions with other components of the Earth system. These interactions encompass the ice sheet response to Earth system forcing, th...

File Type:

[PDF - 6.67 MB]
Stopping the flood: could we use targeted geoengineering to mitigate sea level rise?

Personal Author:

Wolovick, M.; Moore, J.;

Published Date:

2018

Source:

The Cryosphere, 12, 2955–2967

Description:

The Marine Ice Sheet Instability (MISI) is a dynamic feedback that can cause an ice sheet to enter a runaway collapse. Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica, is projected to be the largest individual source of future sea level rise and may have already e...

File Type:

[PDF - 3.28 MB]