ISMIP6 Antarctica

  • Ice flow models of the Antarctic ice sheet are commonly used to simulate its future evolution in response to different climate scenarios and assess the mass loss that would contribute to future sea level rise. However, there is currently no consensus on estimates of the future mass balance of the ice sheet, primarily because of differences in the representation of physical processes, forcings employed and initial states of ice sheet models. This study presents results from ice flow model simulations from 13 international groups focusing on the evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet during the period 2015-2100 as part of the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison for CMIP6 (ISMIP6). They are forced with outputs from a subset of models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), representative of the spread in climate model results. Simulations of the Antarctic ice sheet contribution to sea level rise in response to increased warming during this period varies between 7:8 and 30.0 cm of sea level equivalent (SLE) underIce flow models of the Antarctic ice sheet are commonly used to simulate its future evolution in response to different climate scenarios and assess the mass loss that would contribute to future sea level rise. However, there is currently no consensus on estimates of the future mass balance of the ice sheet, primarily because of differences in the representation of physical processes, forcings employed and initial states of ice sheet models. This study presents results from ice flow model simulations from 13 international groups focusing on the evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet during the period 2015-2100 as part of the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison for CMIP6 (ISMIP6). They are forced with outputs from a subset of models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), representative of the spread in climate model results. Simulations of the Antarctic ice sheet contribution to sea level rise in response to increased warming during this period varies between 7:8 and 30.0 cm of sea level equivalent (SLE) under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario forcing. These numbers are relative to a control experiment with constant climate conditions and should therefore be added to the mass loss contribution under climate conditions similar to present-day conditions over the same period. The simulated evolution of the West Antarctic ice sheet varies widely among models, with an overall mass loss, up to 18.0 cm SLE, in response to changes in oceanic conditions. East Antarctica mass change varies between 6 :1 and 8.3 cm SLE in the simulations, with a significant increase in surface mass balance outweighing the increased ice discharge under most RCP 8.5 scenario forcings. The inclusion of ice shelf collapse, here assumed to be caused by large amounts of liquid water ponding at the surface of ice shelves, yields an additional simulated mass loss of 28mm compared to simulations without ice shelf collapse. The largest sources of uncertainty come from the climate forcing, the ocean-induced melt rates, the calibration of these melt rates based on oceanic conditions taken outside of ice shelf cavities and the ice sheet dynamic response to these oceanic changes. Results under RCP 2.6 scenario based on two CMIP5 climate models show an additional mass loss of 0 and 3 cm of SLE on average compared to simulations done under present-day conditions for the two CMIP5 forcings used and display limited mass gain in East Antarctica.show moreshow less

Export metadata

Additional Services

Search Google Scholar Statistics
Metadaten
Author details:Helene SeroussiORCiD, Sophie NowickiORCiD, Antony J. PayneORCiD, Heiko GoelzerORCiD, William H. LipscombORCiD, Ayako Abe-OuchiORCiD, Cecile AgostaORCiD, Torsten AlbrechtORCiDGND, Xylar Asay-DavisORCiD, Alice Barthel, Reinhard Calov, Richard Cullather, Christophe Dumas, Benjamin K. Galton-Fenzi, Rupert Gladstone, Nicholas R. Golledge, Jonathan M. Gregory, Ralf Greve, Tore Hattermann, Matthew J. Hoffman, Angelika Humbert, Philippe HuybrechtsORCiD, Nicolas C. Jourdain, Thomas KleinerORCiD, Eric Larour, Gunter R. Leguy, Daniel P. Lowry, Chistopher M. Little, Mathieu MorlighemORCiD, Frank Pattyn, Tyler Pelle, Stephen F. Price, Aurelien Quiquet, Ronja ReeseORCiD, Nicole-Jeanne Schlegel, Andrew Shepherd, Erika Simon, Robin S. SmithORCiD, Fiammetta StraneoORCiD, Sainan Sun, Luke D. Trusel, Jonas Van Breedam, Roderik S. W. van de Wal, Ricarda WinkelmannORCiDGND, Chen ZhaoORCiD, Tong Zhang, Thomas ZwingerORCiD
DOI:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3033-2020
ISSN:1994-0416
ISSN:1994-0424
Title of parent work (English):The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union
Subtitle (German):a multi-model ensemble of the Antarctic ice sheet evolution over the 21st century
Publisher:Copernicus
Place of publishing:Göttingen
Publication type:Article
Language:English
Date of first publication:2020/09/17
Publication year:2020
Release date:2022/10/14
Volume:14
Issue:9
Number of pages:38
First page:3033
Last Page:3070
Funding institution:U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, the Netherlands Earth; System Science CentreUnited States Department of Energy (DOE); [024.002.001]; Academy of FinlandAcademy of Finland [286587, 322430]; Australian Research CouncilAustralian Research Council [SR140300001]; Agence Nationale de la RechercheFrench National Research Agency; (ANR)European Commission [ANR-15-CE01-0005-01]; European Commission; (TiPACCs grant)European Commission [820575]; Research Foundation -; FlandersFWO; Japan Society for the Promotion of ScienceMinistry of; Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT)Japan; Society for the Promotion of Science [JP16H02224, JP17H06104,; JP17H06323]; New Zealand Ministry of Business Innovation and; EmploymentNew Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; (MBIE) [RTVU1705]; German Federal Ministry of Education and; ResearchFederal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF); Office of Polar; ProgramsNational Science Foundation (NSF)NSF - Directorate for; Geosciences (GEO) [1739031]; National Science FoundationNational Science; Foundation (NSF) [1603799, 1644277, 1852977, 1916566]; National; Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNational Aeronautics & Space; Administration (NASA) [NNX17AG65G, NNX17AI03G]; Deutsche; ForschungsgemeinschaftGerman Research Foundation (DFG) [WI4556/2-1,; WI4556/31]; Norwegian Research CouncilResearch Council of NorwayEuropean; Commission [280727, 295075]; NERCUK Research & Innovation (UKRI)Natural; Environment Research Council (NERC) [cpom30001, ncas10014] Funding; Source: UKRI
Organizational units:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie
5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 53 Physik / 530 Physik
Peer review:Referiert
Publishing method:Open Access / Gold Open-Access
License (German):License LogoCC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International
Accept ✔
This website uses technically necessary session cookies. By continuing to use the website, you agree to this. You can find our privacy policy here.