High-Latitude Orography and Climate: An HPC Modeling Study

We explore the influence of the orography of the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets on climate. Fully coupled global circulation model simulations (utilizing the NCAR CESM 1.0 model) performed with flattened Greenland and Antarctic regions will be compared to control simulations. We consider shifts in atmospheric and ocean structure and circulation, both regionally and globally, and explore the mechanisms by which high-latitude orography influences climate. We note substantial changes in precipitation, sea ice, and energetics, and find significant compensation between atmosphere and ocean meridional heat transport processes. We ascertain the role of the ocean in determining the equilibrium response by comparing our results to those from uncoupled simulations.