Climate of the Past Discussions www.clim-past-discuss.net 1814-9340 1814-9359 4 5 2008 10.5194/cpd-4-1115-2008 http://www.clim-past-discuss.net/4/1115/2008/ http://www.clim-past-discuss.net/4/1115/2008/cpd-4-1115-2008.html http://www.clim-past-discuss.net/4/1115/2008/cpd-4-1115-2008.pdf 1115 1158 2008-10-06 How did Marine Isotope Stage 3 and Last Glacial Maximum climates differ? Perspectives from equilibrium simulations C. J. Van Meerbeeck cedric.van.meerbeeck@falw.vu.nl H. Renssen D. M. Roche Department of Palaeoclimatology and Geomorphology, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE/IPSL), Laboratoire CEA/INSU-CNRS/UVSQ, Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France Dansgaard-Oeschger events occurred frequently during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS3), as opposed to the following MIS2 period, which included the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Transient climate model simulations suggest that these abrupt warming events in Greenland and the North Atlantic region are associated with a resumption of the Thermohaline Circulation (THC) from a weak state during stadials to a relatively strong state during interstadials. However, those models were run with LGM, rather than MIS3 boundary conditions. To quantify the influence of different boundary conditions on the climates of MIS3 and LGM, we perform two equilibrium climate simulations with the three-dimensional earth system model LOVECLIM, one for stadial, the other for interstadial conditions. We compare them to the LGM state simulated with the same model. Both climate states are globally 2°C warmer than LGM. A striking feature of our MIS3 simulations is the enhanced Northern Hemisphere seasonality, July being 4°C warmer than in LGM. Also, despite some modification in the location of North Atlantic deep water formation, deep water export to the South Atlantic remains unaffected. 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