Modeling Mediterranean Ocean climate of the Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract. A regional ocean general circulation model of the Mediterranean is used to study the climate of the Last Glacial Maximum. The atmospheric forcing for these simulations has been derived from simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model, which in turn was forced with surface conditions from a coarse resolution earth system model. The model is successful in reproducing the general patterns of reconstructed sea surface temperature anomalies with the strongest cooling in summer in the northwestern Mediterranean and weak cooling in the Levantine, although the model underestimates the extent of the summer cooling in the western Mediterranean. However, there is a strong vertical gradient associated with this pattern of summer cooling, which makes the comparison with reconstructions complicated. The exchange with the Atlantic is decreased to roughly one half of its present value, which can be explained by the shallower Strait of Gibraltar as a consequence of lower global sea level. This reduced exchange causes a strong increase of salinity in the Mediterranean in spite of reduced net evaporation.

• Publication year

  2010

• Venue

  Climate of The Past

• Publication date

  2010-10-01

• Fields of study

  Geology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.5194/CP-7-161-2011
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• Reduced Atlantic exchange drives a strong salinity increase in the Mediterranean even though net evaporation is lower.

  Confidence 0.96

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) review
• Atlantic exchange is reduced to about half of its present-day value, consistent with the shallower Strait of Gibraltar under lower global sea level at the Last Glacial Maximum.

  Confidence 0.95

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) review
• The simulated summer cooling is associated with a strong vertical gradient that makes direct comparison with reconstructions difficult.

  Confidence 0.91

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) review
• The Mediterranean regional ocean general circulation model reproduces the broad pattern of reconstructed sea surface temperature anomalies for the Last Glacial Maximum, with strongest summer cooling in the northwestern Mediterranean and weak cooling in the Levantine, but it underestimates the summer cooling extent in the western Mediterranean.

  Confidence 0.97

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) review

• atlantic exchange

  oceanographic process

  Water exchange between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean through the Gibraltar gateway.

  Aliases: exchange with the Atlantic

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) review
• last glacial maximum

  time period

  The late Pleistocene cold-climate interval targeted by the simulations.

  Aliases: LGM

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) review
• mediterranean regional ocean general circulation model

  model

  A regional ocean circulation model configured for the Mediterranean Sea.

  Aliases: Mediterranean ocean general circulation model, regional Mediterranean ocean model

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) review
• net evaporation

  hydrological process

  The net freshwater loss from the Mediterranean surface budget after accounting for gains and losses.

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) review
• reconstructed sea surface temperature anomalies

  observation, proxy data

  Proxy-based estimates of sea surface temperature departures used for comparison with the model.

  Aliases: SST anomalies, reconstructions

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) review
• salinity

  ocean property

  The salt concentration of Mediterranean seawater simulated by the model.

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) review
• strait of gibraltar

  geographic feature

  The narrow marine passage connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

  Aliases: Gibraltar Strait

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) review
• vertical gradient

  physical structure

  A change in water properties with depth across the simulated Mediterranean water column.

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) review

• A comparison of climate simulations for the last glacial maximum with three different versions of the ECHAM model and implications for summer-green tree refugia

  2011cited by this paper
• The last glacial maximum locations of summer-green tree refugia using simulations with ECHAM3 T42 uncoupled, ECHAM5 T31 coupled and ECHAM5 T106 uncoupled models

  2010cited by this paper
• Sensitivity of Mediterranean thermohaline circulation to gateway depth: A model investigation

  2010cited by this paper
• Abrupt aridities and salt deposition in the post-glacial Dead Sea and their North Atlantic connection

  2010cited by this paper
• Climatic variability during the last ∼90 ka of the southern and northern Levantine Basin as evident from marine records and speleothems

  2009cited by this paper
• River discharges of water and nutrients to the Mediterranean and Black Sea: Major drivers for ecosystem changes during past and future decades?

  2009cited by this paper
• 21st century climate change scenario for the Mediterranean using a coupled atmosphere–ocean regional climate model

  2008cited by this paper
• Regional Synthesis of Mediterranean Atmospheric Circulation During the Last Glacial Maximum

  2008cited by this paper
• Climatic changes in Eurasia and Africa at the last glacial maximum and mid-Holocene: reconstruction from pollen data using inverse vegetation modelling

  2007cited by this paper
• Results of PMIP2 coupled simulations of the Mid-Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum - Part 1: experiments and large-scale features

  2007cited by this paper
• Effect of ice sheet interactions in anthropogenic climate change simulations

  2007cited by this paper
• Long-term effects of anthropogenic CO2 emissions simulated with a complex earth system model

  2007cited by this paper
• High-resolution climate simulation of the last glacial maximum

  2006cited by this paper
• Transient climate change scenario simulation of the Mediterranean Sea for the twenty-first century using a high-resolution ocean circulation model

  2006cited by this paper
• A review of palaeoclimates and palaeoenvironments in the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean from 25,000 to 5000 years BP: setting the environmental background for the evolution of human civilisation

  2006cited by this paper
• Glacial Mediterranean sea surface temperatures based on planktonic foraminiferal assemblages

  2005influential reference
• Seasonal variability of the mixed layer depth in the Mediterranean Sea as derived from in situ profiles

  2005cited by this paper
• High-resolution simulations of the last glacial maximum climate over Europe: a solution to discrepancies with continental palaeoclimatic reconstructions?

  2005cited by this paper
• GLOBAL GLACIAL ISOSTASY AND THE SURFACE OF THE ICE-AGE EARTH: The ICE-5G (VM2) Model and GRACE

  2004cited by this paper
• Improving a subgrid runoff parameterization scheme for climate models by the use of high resolution data derived from satellite observations

  2003cited by this paper
• A hydraulic box model study of the Mediterranean response to postglacial sea-level rise

  2003cited by this paper
• The Max-Planck-Institute global ocean/sea ice model with orthogonal curvilinear coordinates

  2003cited by this paper
• Eastern Mediterranean surface water temperatures and delta O-18 composition during deposition of sapropels in the late Quaternary

  2003cited by this paper
• Late Quaternary turbidite input into the east Mediterranean basin: new radiocarbon constraints on climate and sea-level control

  2002cited by this paper
• The Hydrological Cycle in the Mediterranean Region and Implications for the Water Budget of the Mediterranean Sea

  2002cited by this paper
• Intensive shipboard observations of the flow through the Strait of Gibraltar

  2001cited by this paper
• Comparison of statistical and artificial neural network techniques for estimating past sea surface temperatures from planktonic foraminifer census data

  2001cited by this paper
• Variability of the large scale general circulation of the Mediterranean Sea from observations and modelling: a review

  2000cited by this paper
• Temperature and salinity variations of Mediterranean Sea surface waters over the last 16,000 years from records of planktonic stable oxygen isotopes and alkenone unsaturation ratios

  2000cited by this paper
• How well can we simulate past climates? Evaluating the models using global palaeoenvironmental datasets

  2000cited by this paper
• Tropical climates at the Last Glacial Maximum: a new synthesis of terrestrial palaeoclimate data. I. Vegetation, lake-levels and geochemistry

  1999cited by this paper
• Functioning of the Mediterranean Sea: past and present changes related to freshwater input and climate changes

  1999cited by this paper
• Oscillating Quaternary water levels of the Marmara Sea and vigorous outflow into the Aegean Sea from the Marmara Sea–Black Sea drainage corridor

  1999cited by this paper
• Environmental control on Mediterranean salinity and δ18O

  1999cited by this paper
• Modeling the paleocirculation of the Mediterranean: The Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene with emphasis on the formation of sapropel S 1

  1998cited by this paper
• Improving past sea surface temperature estimates based on planktonic fossil faunas

  1998cited by this paper
• Global Monthly Precipitation Estimates from Satellite-Observed Outgoing Longwave Radiation

  1998cited by this paper
• Design of a closed boundary regional model of the Arctic Ocean

  1997cited by this paper
• Exchange through the Strait of Gibraltar

  1994cited by this paper
• An ocean general circulation model view of the glacial Mediterranean thermohaline circulation

  1994cited by this paper
• Estimating past changes in the Eastern Mediterranean freshwater budget, using reconstructions of sea level and hydrography

  1994cited by this paper
• Mixed boundary conditions in ocean general circulation models and their influence on the stability of the model's conveyor belt

  1994cited by this paper
• Steady two-layer exchange through the Strait of Gibraltar

  1991cited by this paper
• Mean seasonal and spatial variability in gauge‐corrected, global precipitation

  1990cited by this paper
• CHAPTER 8 – Coastal Oceanography

  1990cited by this paper
• Descriptive Physical Oceanography

  1990cited by this paper
• Glacial–Holocene salinity changes in the Mediterranean Sea: hydrographic and depositional effects

  1989cited by this paper
• Maximal two-layer exchange over a sill and through the combination of a sill and contraction with barotropic flow

  1986cited by this paper
• Changing Coastal oceanography of the Black Sea. I: Northwestern Shelf

  1985cited by this paper
• Limiting processes that determine basic features of the circulation in the Mediterranean Sea

  1984cited by this paper
• The Regime of the Strait of Gibraltar

  1982cited by this paper
• Budgets of th~ Medit_erranean Sea. Their depenqance on the local climate and on the characteristics of the Atlantic waters·

  1979cited by this paper
• A Glacial Mediterranean

  1978cited by this paper
• Monatskarten des Niederschlags für die ganze Erde

  1976cited by this paper
• The Geological Society of London

  1961cited by this paper

• Genomic signatures of rapid local selection and introgression drive adaptive phylogeography in the European river skater

  2026cites this paper
• Sensitivity analysis of the physicochemical oceanographic drivers on the gas hydrate thickness variability associated with the last glacial Maximum - the European continental margins as a study case

  2025influential citation
• Circulation changes in the Mediterranean Sea over the last 30,000 years – Constraints from deep-water Nd isotopes

  2025cites this paper
• Controls of aeolian and fluvial sediment influx to the northern Red Sea over the last 220 000 years

  2025cites this paper
• Genetic Diversity, Connectivity and Demographic History of the Small Red Scorpionfish Scorpaena notata at a Small Scale in the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean)

  2025cites this paper
• Modelling Mediterranean ocean biogeochemistry of the Last Glacial Maximum

  2024cites this paper
• The climate and vegetation of Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East during the Last Glacial Maximum (21 000 yr BP) based on pollen data

  2024cites this paper
• Climate forcing of regional deep-sea biodiversity documented by benthic foraminifera

  2023cites this paper
• Genomics reveals the role of admixture in the evolution of structure among sperm whale populations within the Mediterranean Sea

  2023cites this paper
• Modeling the form, distribution and paleoclimatic implications of former glaciers in the Teke Peninsula (Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey)

  2023cites this paper
• LGM glaciers in the SE Mediterranean? First evidence from glacial landforms and 36Cl dating on Mount Lebanon

  2022cites this paper
• High-frequency modification of the Central Mediterranean seafloor environment over the last 74 ka

  2022cites this paper
• Estimating crossing success of human agents across sea straits out of Africa in the Late Pleistocene

  2022cites this paper
• Genetic monitoring of the declining European stony sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus from the central Bay of Biscay (Asturias, northwest Spain) and attempts to restore its wild populations

  2022cites this paper
• The climate and vegetation of Europe , North Africa and the 1 Middle East during the Last Glacial Maximum 2 ( 21 , 000 years BP ) based on pollen data 3 4 5

  2022cites this paper
• Drivers of the decadal variability of the North Ionian Gyre upper layer circulation during 1910–2010: a regional modelling study

  2021cites this paper
• Nature and dynamics of North African humid and dry periods during the last 200,000 years documented in the clay fraction of Eastern Mediterranean deep-sea sediments

  2021cites this paper
• The antique genetic plight of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus)

  2021cites this paper
• Changes in the Intermediate Water Masses of the Mediterranean Sea During the Last Climatic Cycle—New Constraints From Neodymium Isotopes in Foraminifera

  2021influential citation
• Variations in eastern Mediterranean hydrology during the last climatic cycle as inferred from neodymium isotopes in foraminifera

  2020cites this paper
• The atmospheric moisture budget in the Mediterranean: Mechanisms for seasonal changes in the Last Glacial Maximum and future warming scenario

  2020cites this paper
• Development of a sequential tool, LMDZ-NEMO-med-V1, to conduct global-to-regional past climate simulation for the Mediterranean basin: an Early Holocene case study

  2020cites this paper
• New insights into source and dispersal of Mediterranean S1 tephra, an early Holocene marker horizon erupted at Mt. Erciyes (Turkey)

  2020cites this paper
• Evidence for the Presence of Oxygen-Depleted Sapropel Intermediate Water across the Eastern Mediterranean during Sapropel S1

  2019cites this paper
• Development of a sequential tool, LMDZ-NEMO-med-V1, to conduct global to regional past climate simulation for the Mediterranean basin: An Early Holocene case study

  2019cites this paper
• Paleo-ecologic and neotectonic evolution of a marine depositional environment in SE Rhodes (Greece) during the early Pleistocene

  2019cites this paper
• Climatic patterns over the European Alps during the LGM derived from inversion of the paleo-ice extent

  2019cites this paper
• The mechanism of sapropel formation in the Mediterranean Sea: insight from long-duration box model experiments

  2019cites this paper
• Reinterpretation of an endangered taxon based on integrative taxonomy: The case of Cynara baetica (Compositae)

  2018cites this paper
• The conservation significance of natural hybridisation in Mediterranean plants: from a case study on Cyclamen (Primulaceae) to a general perspective.

  2018cites this paper
• Circulation Changes in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Over the Past 23,000 Years Inferred From Authigenic Nd Isotopic Ratios

  2018influential citation
• Contacts in the last 90,000 years over the Strait of Gibraltar evidenced by genetic analysis of wild boar (Sus scrofa)

  2017cites this paper
• Intensity of African Humid Periods Estimated from Saharan Dust Fluxes

  2017cites this paper
• The periwinkle Echinolittorina punctata (Mollusca: Gastropoda) tracked the warming of the Mediterranean Sea following the Last Glacial Maximum

  2017influential citation
• The periwinkle Echinolittorina punctata (Mollusca: Gastropoda) tracked the warming of the Mediterranean Sea following the Last Glacial Maximum

  2017influential citation
• The AMOC and its sensitivity to different climate forcings in the range of glacial to modern conditions

  2017cites this paper
• The Adriatic Sea: A Long-Standing Laboratory for Sea Level Studies

  2017cites this paper
• The eastern part of the Fertile Crescent concealed an unexpected route of olive (Olea europaea L.) differentiation

  2017cites this paper
• The Uniqueness of Planktonic Ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea: The Response to Orbital- and Suborbital-Climatic Forcing over the Last 130,000 Years

  2016cites this paper
• Stable isotope composition of benthic foraminifera : Species-specific differences and their application

  2016cites this paper
• The effect of greenhouse gas concentrations and ice sheets on the glacial AMOC in a coupled climate model

  2016cites this paper
• Water and carbon stable isotope records from natural archives: a new database and interactive online platform for data browsing, visualizing and downloading

  2016cites this paper
• Palaeohydrological changes over the last 50 ky in the central Gulf of Cadiz:complex forcing mechanisms mixing multi-scale processes

  2016cites this paper
• Transforming Archaeology: Activist Practices and Prospects, edited by

  2015cites this paper
• Bipolar seesaw control on last interglacial sea level

  2015cites this paper
• Holocene Climate Dynamics, Biogeochemical Cycles and Ecosystem Variability in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

  2015cites this paper
• Drivers of Population Structure of the Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

  2015cites this paper
• Late glacial initiation of Holocene eastern Mediterranean sapropel formation

  2015cites this paper
• Mediterranean climate and oceanography, and the periodic development of anoxic events (sapropels)

  2015cites this paper
• Isotopic evidence for Last Glacial climatic impacts on Neanderthal gazelle hunting territories at Amud Cave, Israel.

  2015cites this paper
• Levantine intermediate water hydrodynamic and bottom water ventilation in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea over the past 56,000 years: New insights from benthic foraminifera and ostracods

  2015cites this paper
• Drainage of deep Mediterranean Water, its transition through the Strait of Gibraltar: spatial and temporal variability

  2015cites this paper
• Petrography and environmental controls on the formation of Phanerozoic marine carbonate hardgrounds

  2015cites this paper
• The deglaciation of Sierra Nevada (Spain), synthesis of the knowledge and new contributions

  2015cites this paper
• Integrated Analysis of Interglacial Climate Dynamics (INTERDYNAMIC)

  2015cites this paper
• How much do tides affect the circulation of the Mediterranean Sea? From local processes in the Strait of Gibraltar to basin-scale effects

  2014cites this paper
• Sea-level and deep-sea-temperature variability over the past 5.3 million years

  2014cites this paper
• Ten Years of Paleoceanographic Studies at ODP Site 963 (Central Mediterranean Sea)

  2014cites this paper
• A Last Glacial Maximum world-ocean simulation at eddy-permitting resolution – Part 1: Experimental design and basic evaluation

  2013cites this paper
• Productivity modes in the Mediterranean Sea during Dansgaard–Oeschger (20,000–70,000 yr ago) oscillations

  2013cites this paper
• The thermohaline circulation during the Last Glacial Maximum and in the Present-Day climate

  2013cites this paper
• The influence of tides on the exchange through the Strait of Gibraltar and on properties of the Mediterranean Sea

  2013cites this paper
• Last Glacial Maximum world ocean simulations at eddy-permitting and coarse resolutions : do eddies contribute to a better consistency between models and palaeoproxies?

  2013cites this paper
• Hydraulic theory of sea straits applied to the onset of the Messinian Salinity Crisis

  2012cites this paper
• Vertical density gradient in the eastern North Atlantic during the last 30,000 years

  2012cites this paper
• Future projections of the surface heat and water budgets of the Mediterranean Sea in an ensemble of coupled atmosphere–ocean regional climate models

  2012cites this paper
• Simulating the early Holocene eastern Mediterranean sapropel formation using an ocean biogeochemical model

  2012influential citation
• Paleoceanography of the Atlantic‐Mediterranean exchange: Overview and first quantitative assessment of climatic forcing

  2012cites this paper
• Early Holocene ocean climate of the Eastern Mediterranean

  2011cites this paper
• Early Holocene Eastern Mediterranean ocean climate and the stability of its overturning circulation

  2011cites this paper
• Interactive comment on "Simulated climate variability in the region of Rapa Nui during the last millennium" by C. Junk and M. Claussen

  2011cites this paper
• Corrigendum to "Upper ocean climate of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea during the Holocene Insolation Maximum - a model study" published in Clim. Past, 7, 1103-1122, 2011

  2011cites this paper
• Upper ocean climate of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea during the Holocene Insolation Maximum – a model study

  2011cites this paper
• Simulated climate variability in the region of Rapa Nui during the last millennium

  2011cites this paper
• Modeling Mediterranean ocean biogeochemistry of the Last Glacial Maximum

  year unknowninfluential citation
• Controls of aeolian and fluvial sediment influx to the northern Red Sea over the last 220 000 years

  year unknowncites this paper