Experiments in linking regional climate, ice-sheet models and topography

This paper describes the dynamic asynchronous coupling of an ice‐sheet model with a climate model that calculates spatial atmospheric moisture flux. The coupled models are run over a hypothetical, symmetric topography for a range of different wind speeds and temperatures. Resultant ice‐sheet profiles and distributions are compared with those from an ice‐sheet model run with a constant, imposed climate. Ice sheets that develop under the dynamically linked models are shown to be asymmetric, with profiles extending up to 500 m lower on their windward side as a result of a strong positive mass‐balance feedback. The feedback results from the imposition of the evolving ice‐sheet topography on the atmospheric moisture transport. The experiments demonstrate the importance of using such a coupled model configuration in order to understand the processes that link ice sheets and climate, in particular in situations such as that of Patagonia, where a narrow mountain range lies athwart the prevailing wind. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.