Work

Orbital-accelerated transient simulations of glacial-interglacial climate cycles for the last 800,000 years

Year: 2025

Type: data-paper

Abstract: concentrations, and ice sheet volumes. To understand how these climate forcing factors influence climate on orbital scales, high-resolution and continuous paleoclimate simulations are crucial. This study employed the CESM1.2.2 Earth System Model for four 800,000-year orbital-accelerated transient climate simulations, including a full-forcing experiment and three single-factor forcing experiments. The results were compared with geological proxy records from various regions, showing good agreement in mid-low latitude monsoon systems, mid-latitude sea surface temperatures, and high-latitude North Atlantic climate variability. However, the model underestimated sea surface temperature fluctuations in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes. Despite this, it accurately depicted high-latitude climate characteristics. These climate simulation datasets include global annual mean surface temperature and precipitation distributions with a horizontal resolution of 3.75°. Overall, these simulations provide a reliable and verifiable climate dataset, offering strong support for studying the driving mechanisms of past glacial-interglacial climate changes and interpreting long-term climate signals in geological records.

Source: Scientific Data

DOI: 10.1038/s41597-025-05297-x

Authors: Baohuang Su, Yong Sun, Mengzi Zhou

Institutions: China Meteorological Administration, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Chengdu Institute of Plateau Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research

Language: English

Topic: Geology and Paleoclimatology Research

Subfield: Atmospheric Science

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,490