The Effect of Ocean Salinity on Climate and Its Implications for Earth's Habitability.

ABSTRACT: The influence of atmospheric composition on the climates of present-day and early Earth has been studied extensively, but the role of ocean composition has received less attention. We use the ROCKE-3D ocean-atmosphere general circulation model to investigate the response of Earth's present-day and Archean climate system to low versus high ocean salinity. We find that saltier oceans yield warmer climates in large part due to changes in ocean dynamics. Increasing ocean salinity from 20 to 50 g/kg results in a 71% reduction in sea ice cover in our present-day Earth scenario. This same salinity change also halves the pCO₂ threshold at which Snowball glaciation occurs in our Archean scenarios. In combination with higher levels of greenhouse gases such as CO₂ and CH<

SUBMITTER: Olson S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9286645 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature