Mid-Pliocene climate forcing, sea surface temperature patterns, and implications for modern-day climate sensitivity

However, model intercomparison studies suggest that non-CO 2 boundary conditions—such as changes in ice sheets—contribute substantially to the higher global mean temperatures and strongly shape the pattern of sea surface warming during the mPWP.

Here, we employ a set of CESM2 simulations to quantify mPWP effective radiative forcings, study the role of ocean circulation changes in shaping the patterns of sea surface temperatures, and calculate radiative feedbacks during the mPWP. We find that the non-CO 2 boundary conditions of the mPWP, enhanced by changes in ocean circulation, contributed to larger high-latitude warming and less-stabilizing feedbacks relative to those induced by CO 2 alone.