SIMULATIONS OF THE EFFECT OF CLIMATE FORCINGS ON THE FENNOSCANDIAN ICE SHEET USING PISM-PIK

Understanding the sensitivity of ice sheets to climate forcing is crucial for predicting future climate change and reconstructing past climates. Studying the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet at the last glacial maximum can assist in understanding the interfaces of ice sheet/ ice shelf interactions as climate changes. The results can serve as an analogue for the potential future of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. PISM-PIK, a coupled ice sheet and ice shelf model, will be used to simulate the extent, thickness, and movement of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet. Evaluating the sensitivity of the climate forcing and the effect on the mass balance scheme is crucial to understand what conditions can recreate the climate conditions of the last glacial maximum. In order to understand the interface of the ice sheet/ice shelf the first step is being able to model an accurate representation at the last glacial maximum before applying a paleoclimate forcing. Initial constant climate runs of the model predict shear deformation and basal sliding throughout the fjords of Norway’s western coast, agreeing with geomorphic data although the ice sheet’s eastern extent is somewhat smaller than expected.