There is little consensus on what forced the climate of southern Africa to change during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Because of southern Africa's latitudinal position, changes in seasonal precipitation can help resolve the influence of internal climate factors such as groundwater and external climate forcers such as large scale atmospheric circulation patterns. This paper presents a simple model of groundwater discharge based on permeability and topography in comparison with general circulation model precipitation results and paleoenvironmental proxy records. Results show that during the LGM the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) likely weakened and moved slightly further south while the westerlies likely expanded slightly northward, with no significant change in strength. The climate and groundwater results were compared to the distribution of LGM and pre-LGM archaeological sites. Results show that the Later Stone Age peoples of southern Africa were likely inhabiting a relatively wet environment rather than an arid one.

No description available.

La dernière période glaciaire est marquée par la présence de deux grandes calottes boréales recouvrant l’actuel Canada et le nord de l’Eurasie. Ces calottes constituent un élément actif du système climatique en interagissant avec les différentes composantes du système Terre. L’objectif de cette thèse est de déterminer par quels mécanismes les changements de circulation atmosphérique lors du dernier cycle glaciaire induisent potentiellement une téléconnexion entre les paléo-calottes de l’hémisphère nord. L’utilisation d’un modèle couplé climat-calotte simplifié m’a permis de tester séparément l’influence de la topographie et de l’albédo des calottes sur les champs de température et de précipitation lors du dernier cycle glaciaire, et de mettre en évidence le rôle de la circulation atmosphérique dans la synergie entre les paléo-calottes de l’hémisphère nord. Pour étudier plus en détail les mécanismes de cette interaction, l’utilisation d’un modèle de circulation générale s’est avérée nécessaire. J’ai tout d’abord effectué une inter-comparaison des modèles ayant participé à l’exercice PMIP3 pour le dernier maximum glaciaire (DMG). Cette inter-comparaison a permis d’illustrer l’impact des conditions glaciaires sur le décalage du courant-jet en Atlantique Nord et d’établir un lien entre ce décalage et les précipitations au sud de l’Europe. Enfin, à l’aide d’expériences idéalisées menées avec le modèle atmosphérique LMDZ, j’ai pu étudier le rôle de chacune des calottes dans les changements de circulation atmosphérique observés auDMG. Cette étude montre en particulier l’influence notable de la calotte nord-américaine sur le bilan de masse de surface de la calotte eurasienne. / The last glacial period is characterized by the presence of two large ice sheets covering Canada and North Eurasia. These ice sheets are a key element of the climatic system by interacting with all the components of the Earth system. The aim of this thesis is to determine by which mechanisms changes in atmospheric circulation may have induced a teleconnexionbetween the Northern hemisphere paleo-ice sheets. The use of a simplified coupled climate-ice sheet model allowed to test separately the influence of the ice-sheet topography and albedo on temperature and precipitation fields throughout the last glacial cycle and to highlight the role of atmospheric circulation within the synergy of past boreal ice sheets.To investigate in more details the underlying mechanisms, the use of a general circulation model was necessary.I therefore carried out an inter-comparisonof the PMIP3 models to examine the GCM responsesto glacial conditions. This work allowed to determinethe role of glacial conditions on the shift of the NorthAtlantic jet stream position and to establish a relationshipbetween this shift and the amount of precipitationover southern Europe. The last part of this thesisis devoted to the respective role of each ice sheeton atmospheric circulation changes observed underglacial conditions. To achieve this, I performed idealizedexperiments with the atmospheric circulationmodel LMDZ. The results highlight the key influenceof the North American ice sheet on the Eurasian icesheet surface mass balance.

Abstract not available

A variety of general circulation model experiments are performed to investigate the influence of seasonality and topography on the strength of baroclinic eddies in the Martian atmosphere. Three different models are used: a full physics model, a simplified physics model, and a zonally symmetric simplified physics model. All three models are sigma coordinate, finite difference global atmospheric circulation models that have been adapted to the Martian regime. The full physics model has previously been tested extensively by researchers at the NASA Ames Research Center. The simplified physics model replaces many of the atmospheric physics routines with simple parameterizations; most importantly, the radiation code is replaced by Newtonian cooling. A Newtonian cooling code with a radiative time constant that varies in height and latitude produces superior results to one with a radiative time constant that is the same everywhere throughout the atmosphere. It is found that baroclinic eddy activity is extremely sensitive to the mean meridional temperature gradient in the simplified model. A power law fit gives an exponent of approximately six. The baroclinic eddy activity is also sensitive to the maximum growth rate in the Eady model of baroclinic activity. This is due to the close connection between the meridional temperature gradient and the maximum growth rate. Baroclinic adjustment theory, which predicts how baroclinic eddies will react to changes in the mean circulation, does not appear to be valid in the Martian regime, according to the simplified model. This finding may be related to the differences in the relative strengths of the baroclinic eddies and the mean circulation on Earth and Mars. The simplified model indicates that seasonality is more important than topography in creating stronger eddies in the northern hemisphere winter than in the southern hemisphere winter. However, the effects of topography in the simplified model may not be adequately matching the effects of topography in the full physics model, particularly in the southern hemisphere. / Graduation date: 2001

The atmospheric response to the oceanic forcing in the eastern Pacific along the northern equatorial sea surface temperature (SST) front is investigated in terms of sensible and latent heat flux during the 6-month period 28 July 1999 through 27 January 2000. Of particular interest is the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) response to oceanic Tropical Instability Waves (TIWs) that distort the SST front during May through January in normal years. In previous studies, time series of boundary layer properties clearly show the influence of TIWs but the relationship to spatial patterns of SST and wind stress has been inferred only from sparse in situ data. In this study, satellite observations are used to composite in situ data from moorings to compensate for the lack of a spatially dense mooring array. The variability in the position of the SST front caused by propagating TIWs enables fixed mooring locations to measure the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) response from a large range of locations relative to the front. The satellite data enable determination of the precise location of the mooring relative to the front. The advantage of this strategy is the recurring measurement of the ABL response to the SST front over the six month period considered here. The results indicate that the TIW-induced perturbations of sensible and latent heat flux are spatially shifted in phase towards the east relative to the perturbations of SST. The maximum fluxes are not centered directly over the warmest water, but are shifted towards the portion of the frontal region where a disequilibrium boundary layer is expected due to the advection of colder air from the equatorial region. The changes of sensible and latent heat fluxes across the SST front have magnitudes of about 11 Wm⁻² and 126 Wm⁻², respectively. The sensible and latent heat flux patterns are interpreted in two complementary ways: (1) as an atmospheric response to the change of oceanic forcing as air flows across the SST front; and (2) as the atmospheric response to westward propagating TIWs along the SST front. / Graduation date: 2001

This paper investigates the atmospheric circulation and transport characteristics of the Martian atmosphere (as modeled by a Mars GCM) for three sets of conditions. The conditions are based on a combination of season and dust loading (as parameterized by the optical depth, τ). The first experiment is for the Northern Spring Equinox with no dust loading (τ=0). Experiment 2 is for Northern Hemisphere Winter Solstice with no dust loading. Experiment 3 is for Northern Hemisphere Winter Solstice under moderately dusty conditions (τ=1.0). These cases allow a comparison between seasons and a look at the effects of dust in the atmosphere on the circulation and transport processes. After presenting some of the theoretical and mathematical background pertinent to atmospheric transport and circulation the results of the study are given. These include analyses of the zonal-mean winds, the time-evolution of the mean tracer field, the mean meridional circulation, and the effective transport circulation [Plumb and Mahlman, 1987]. In addition we estimate the time scales for "stratospheric" overturning and calculate a set of eddy diffusion, coefficients (K[subscript yy] and K[subscript zz]) for each case. These coefficients are a means of parameterizing the strength of eddy mixing. Others [Conrath, 1971; Zurek, 1976; Kong and McElroy, 1977; Toon et al., 1977; Anderson and Leovy, 1987] have estimated, using various methods, values for the vertical diffusion coefficient K[subscript zz] of the order of 10³ m²/s. The results here show that there is no "typical" value of K[subscript zz] (or K[subscript yy]) which can be used to characterize the atmosphere globally, and K[subscript zz] seldom reaches 10³ m²/s except in isolated regions and/or under dusty conditions. Both K[subscript yy] and K[subscript zz] are dependent upon season, dust loading, and location in the atmosphere. In addition to identifying the regions of strong mixing, probable sources of the eddy activity which is responsible for the mixing are discussed. In all three cases the effective transport circulation (which includes both advection and diffusion) is structurally similar to the mean meridional circulation but somewhat more intense. The Martian equinox circulation is structurally similar to Earth's circulation; both are characterized by a dual Hadley cell system with rising branch over the equator, poleward flow aloft, and return flow at low levels. The mean zonal winds are westerly in both hemispheres with easterlies near the ground and at high altitudes over the equator. The jet stream in the northern hemisphere peaks at 45 m/s at equinox. Unlike the Earth, Mars' circulation changes dramatically with the seasons. For solstice conditions the mean meridional circulation is characterized by a large, intense cross-equatorial Hadley cell which dominates the circulation pattern. The mean zonal winds are now predominately westerly in the northern winter hemisphere and easterly in the southern hemisphere. The westerly jet reaches 95 m/s while the easterly jet reaches 30 m/s. There is a band of westerlies (up to 10 m/s) found in low southern latitudes near the ground. Dust in the atmosphere acts to intensify the strength of the circulation (while having little effect on the structure); there is a two- to three-fold increase in the strength of the mean winds between the two winter solstice experiments. / Graduation date: 1995

In recent decades, there has been increased global concern about observed climate change; however for future climatic impacts and anthropogenic forcings of climate change to be realistically predicted, natural climate variability in the past needs to be better understood. The aim of this research is to develop quantifiable proxy records of past climate change through the calibration of isotope values in modern surface waters and tree ring cellulose with meteorological and atmospheric records. Terrestrial proxy records that utilize oxygen and hydrogen isotope values to reconstruct paleoclimatic and paleohydrologic conditions are limited by a paucity of data on the modification of surface water isotope values prior to sequestration into proxy material. To address this gap in our knowledge and determine the most appropriate study sites, this research focuses on isotopic records preserved in surface water reservoirs, precipitation, and tree-ring cellulose. In the first study, δD, δ18O, and deuterium-excess values were determined for lakes and rivers from Tasmania, southeastern Australia. <p> The second focus of this research was to calibrate the δ18O, δD, and δ13C values of tree-ring cellulose from North America with instrumental records. A new high-resolution sampling procedure that uses a robotic micromilling device to very precisely map and sample along growth rings in trees is discussed. Additionally, a seasonally resolved (early/late wood) 110-year record of δ18O values from tree-ring α-cellulose from spruce species (<i>Picea mariana</i> and <i>P. glauca</i>) from east-central Saskatchewan, Canada is compared to growing season precipitation δ18O values, temperature, and relative humidity. The δ18O time series from α-cellulose display a high correlation with growing season precipitation isotope values (r = 0.86). δ18O α-cellulose time series from a white spruce (<i>Picea glauca</i>) also records seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation associated with the position of the circumpolar vortex and dominate modes of atmospheric variability such as the North Atlantic Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation.

Cellulose-inferred lake water oxygen-isotope records were obtained from five throughflow lakes situated along a north-south transect across Fennoscandia to help develop a better picture of Holocene changes in atmospheric circulation in the region. This research addresses prior evidence for the existence of non-temperature-dependent shifts in d18O of precipitation in the early Holocene attributed to changes in atmospheric circulation. The validity of this hypothesis is tested through the development of oxygen-isotope records from lake sediments and their interpretation in the context of independent reconstructions of temperature and precipitation from pollen and chironomid head-capsules collected from the same or nearby sites, and well-documented changes in vegetation composition. Records of carbon and nitrogen elemental content and isotopic composition and magnetic susceptibility are included in this multi-proxy investigation. Extensive modern isotope hydrology datasets spanning several years at four of the five sites also help to inform interpretations of the cellulose d18O records. Key results from this research are: 1) Elevated d18O in relation to prevailing temperature occurred during the early Holocene (c. 10,000-6000 cal. BP) for sites in northern Fennoscandia (Lake Tibetanus, Lake Spåime), in harmony with previous interpretations suggesting that strong zonal atmospheric circulation led to deepening of the precipitation and isotope shadows in the lee of the Scandes Mountains. 2) Evidence from a southern site (Arbovatten) reveals a previously unrecognized negative offset in the d18O-temperature relation during the early Holocene, apparently transferred directly from the North Atlantic without the orographic effects associated with a topographic barrier. 3) The modern d18O-temperature relation appears to have been established throughout Fennoscandia by c. 6000-4000 cal. BP, probably due to generally weaker circumpolar atmospheric circulation in response to lower summer insolation. 4) Comparison of two sites (Lake Spåime, Svartkälstjärn) in a west-east transect across central Fennoscandia reveals higher-frequency variability in atmospheric circulation at submillennial scales throughout the Holocene, which appears to be analogous to contemporary variability in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) at seasonal-to-decadal time-scales. Evidence of such NAO-like variability also exists at two northern sites (Lake Keitjoru, Oikojärvi) during the Holocene, likely reflecting variations in summer and winter atmospheric circulation. 5) Complex lake-specific changes in productivity occurred in response to Holocene climate change, as revealed by carbon and nitrogen elemental and isotopic data in lake sediments. A major shift in atmospheric circulation pattern occurring at c. 4000 cal. BP probably led to a reduction in soil-derived 13C-depleted nutrients in five lakes (Lake Keitjoru, Oikojärvi, Lake Spåime, Svartkälstjärn, Arbovatten) associated with changes in terrestrial vegetation. Changes in sediment nitrogen isotope composition also occurred in these lakes at c. 4000 cal. BP, possibly reflecting changing nutrient supply dynamics because of enhanced nitrogen losses during spring snowmelt.

Cellulose-inferred lake water oxygen-isotope records were obtained from five throughflow lakes situated along a north-south transect across Fennoscandia to help develop a better picture of Holocene changes in atmospheric circulation in the region. This research addresses prior evidence for the existence of non-temperature-dependent shifts in d18O of precipitation in the early Holocene attributed to changes in atmospheric circulation. The validity of this hypothesis is tested through the development of oxygen-isotope records from lake sediments and their interpretation in the context of independent reconstructions of temperature and precipitation from pollen and chironomid head-capsules collected from the same or nearby sites, and well-documented changes in vegetation composition. Records of carbon and nitrogen elemental content and isotopic composition and magnetic susceptibility are included in this multi-proxy investigation. Extensive modern isotope hydrology datasets spanning several years at four of the five sites also help to inform interpretations of the cellulose d18O records. Key results from this research are: 1) Elevated d18O in relation to prevailing temperature occurred during the early Holocene (c. 10,000-6000 cal. BP) for sites in northern Fennoscandia (Lake Tibetanus, Lake Spåime), in harmony with previous interpretations suggesting that strong zonal atmospheric circulation led to deepening of the precipitation and isotope shadows in the lee of the Scandes Mountains. 2) Evidence from a southern site (Arbovatten) reveals a previously unrecognized negative offset in the d18O-temperature relation during the early Holocene, apparently transferred directly from the North Atlantic without the orographic effects associated with a topographic barrier. 3) The modern d18O-temperature relation appears to have been established throughout Fennoscandia by c. 6000-4000 cal. BP, probably due to generally weaker circumpolar atmospheric circulation in response to lower summer insolation. 4) Comparison of two sites (Lake Spåime, Svartkälstjärn) in a west-east transect across central Fennoscandia reveals higher-frequency variability in atmospheric circulation at submillennial scales throughout the Holocene, which appears to be analogous to contemporary variability in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) at seasonal-to-decadal time-scales. Evidence of such NAO-like variability also exists at two northern sites (Lake Keitjoru, Oikojärvi) during the Holocene, likely reflecting variations in summer and winter atmospheric circulation. 5) Complex lake-specific changes in productivity occurred in response to Holocene climate change, as revealed by carbon and nitrogen elemental and isotopic data in lake sediments. A major shift in atmospheric circulation pattern occurring at c. 4000 cal. BP probably led to a reduction in soil-derived 13C-depleted nutrients in five lakes (Lake Keitjoru, Oikojärvi, Lake Spåime, Svartkälstjärn, Arbovatten) associated with changes in terrestrial vegetation. Changes in sediment nitrogen isotope composition also occurred in these lakes at c. 4000 cal. BP, possibly reflecting changing nutrient supply dynamics because of enhanced nitrogen losses during spring snowmelt.