Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C509507/1
To what extent was the Little Ice Age a result of a change in the thermohaline circulation?
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor TJ Osborn, University of East Anglia, Environmental Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr G van der Schrier, University of East Anglia, Environmental Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor KR Briffa, University of East Anglia, Environmental Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr J Barkmeijer, Royal Netherlands Meteorology Institute, Climate Variability Research
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr N Weber, Royal Netherlands Meteorology Institute, Climate Variability Research
- Grant held at:
- University of East Anglia, Environmental Sciences
- Science Area:
- Marine
- Overall Classification:
- Marine
- ENRIs:
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Ocean Circulation
- Ocean - Atmosphere Interact.
- Climate & Climate Change
- Abstract:
- For a full understanding of the global climate system, it is imperative to integrate research on empirical climate reconstruction with physical modelling studies of the Earth's climate, using numerical models of varying complexity to address important questions about the attribution of past and future climate changes to specific natural and anthropogenic factors. The focus of this project is on testing various hypotheses about the possible causes of the Little Ice Age. A carefully-designed set of model experiments (incorporating novel methods of assimilating information on climate time scales) is proposed, with the outputs assessed through comparison against empirical palaeoclimate evidence for climate variations over the past millennium. Specifically, we will explore whether the Little Ice Age climate could have been generated by one or more of the following factors: a weakening of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation; the persistence of a generally negative North Atlantic Oscillation; or reduced radiative forcing (by increased volcanic activity, reduced solar insolation and lower greenhouse gas concentrations relative to the present). The proposed project will involve a 3-year collaboration between the University of East Anglia (UK) and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (Netherlands).
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C509507/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Directed Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Rapid Climate Change
This grant award has a total value of £121,880
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Staff | Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| £79,799 | £2,634 | £2,740 | £36,707 |
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