The Pangean ice age: studies with a coupled climate-ice sheet model

 Application of an ice sheet model developed for the Pleistocene to the extensive Carboniferous glaciation on Gondwana yields an ice sheet which has several features consistent with observations. While complete deglaciation is not achieved without CO₂ changes, the Milankovich-induced fluctuations in ice sheet volume are comparable to Pleistocene glacial/ interglacial signals. This result is shown to hold for a large fraction of physically reasonable parameter space. The model also exhibits multiple equilibria and sharp bifurcations, as infinitesimal changes in the solar constant or precipitation can lead to a qualitatively different climate. The success of the model in predicting ice location in an environment quite different from the Pleistocene provides additional support for the robustness of the basic model physics and suggests that the model can be applied with some confidence to other pre-Pleistocene glaciations. Received: 30 June 1998 / Accepted: 5 January 1999