Results from the Ice-Sheet Model Intercomparison Project–Heinrich Event INtercOmparison (ISMIP HEINO)

R. Calov, R. Greve, A. Abe-Ouchi, E. Bueler, P. Huybrechts, J. V. Johnson, F. Pattyn, D. Pollard, C. Ritz, F. Saito, and L. Tarasov

Journal of Glaciology (1 August 2010)

DOI: 10.3189/002214310792447789

Results from the Heinrich Event INtercOmparison (HEINO) topic of the Ice-Sheet Model Intercomparison Project (ISMIP) are presented. ISMIP HEINO was designed to explore internal large-scale ice-sheet instabilities in different contemporary ice-sheet models. These instabilities are of interest because they are a possible cause of Heinrich events. A simplified geometry experiment reproduces the main characteristics of the Laurentide ice sheet, including the sedimented region over Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait. The model experiments include a standard run plus seven variations. Nine dynamic/thermodynamic ice-sheet models were investigated; one of these models contains a combination of the shallow-shelf (SSA) and shallow-ice approximation (SIA), while the remaining eight models are of SIA type only. Seven models, including the SIA–SSA model, exhibit oscillatory surges with a period of ∼1000 years for a broad range of parameters, while two models remain in a permanent state of streaming for most parameter settings. In a number of models, the oscillations disappear for high surface temperatures, strong snowfall and small sediment sliding parameters. In turn, low surface temperatures and low snowfall are favourable for the ice-surge cycles. We conclude that further improvement of ice-sheet models is crucial for adequate, robust simulations of cyclic large-scale instabilities.

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