Land–sea temperature contrasts at the Last Interglacial and their impact on the hydrological cycle

Abstract

Due to different orbital configurations, high northern latitude summer insolation was higher during the Last Interglacial period (LIG; 129–116 thousand years before present, ka) than during the pre-industrial period (PI), while high southern latitude summer insolation was lower. The climatic response to these changes is studied here with focus on the Southern Hemisphere monsoons, by performing an equilibrium experiment of the LIG at 127 ka with the Australian Earth System Model, ACCESS-ESM1.5, as part of the Paleoclimate Model Intercomparison Project 4 (PMIP4). Simulated mean surface air temperature between 40 and 60∘ N over land during boreal summer is 6.5 ∘C higher at the LIG compared to PI, which leads to a northward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and a strengthening of the North African and Indian monsoons. Despite 0.4 ∘C cooler conditions in austral summer in the Southern Hemisphere (0–90∘ S), annual mean air temperatures are 1.2 ∘C higher at southern mid-latitudes to high latitudes (40–80∘ S). These differences in temperature are coincident with a large-scale reorganisation of the atmospheric circulation. The ITCZ shifts southward in the Atlantic and Indian sectors during the LIG austral summer compared to PI, leading to increased precipitation over the southern tropical oceans. However, weaker Southern Hemisphere insolation during LIG austral summer induces a significant cooling over land, which in turn weakens the land–sea temperature contrast, leading to an overall reduction (−20 %) in monsoonal precipitation over the Southern Hemisphere's continental regions compared to PI. The intensity and areal extent of the Australian, South American and South African monsoons are consistently reduced in LIG. This is associated with greater pressure and subsidence over land due to a strengthening of the Southern Hemisphere Hadley cell during austral summer.