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Project title

Abrupt Climate Change in Terrestrial Ireland: re-assessing the proxy record through glacial geomorphology

Primary Funding Agency

Environmental Protection Agency

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

Met Eireann

Lead Organisation

University of Dublin, Trinity College (TCD)

Lead Applicant

Margaret Jackson

Project Abstract

Climate change is the greatest challenge we face. Computational climate models are a key tool for investigating past and future climate, and for predicting accurately the nature and impacts of future climate shifts. Periods of past abrupt climate change are of particular interest for modelers, as these intervals may serve as analogues for the rapid warming we see today. However, climate models struggle to replicate past abrupt events. Emerging data suggests that these modeling challenges may be rooted in uncorrected seasonal biases within the proxy records that we use to reconstruct past climate. The ACCTIR project is a timely, novel endeavor to test explicitly the assumptions that underpin much of modern climate science. ACCTIR will unlock climate records held in Ireland’s glacial landscapes to assess the timing and magnitude of past climate change in the terrestrial North Atlantic. ACCTIR will use coupled high-resolution surface-exposure dating and glaciologic modeling to produce novel, quantitative records of past climate of known seasonal bias. These data will be compared with existing proxy records and new, synoptic reanalysis datasets to asses the ‘fit’ of these datasets with the Irish geomorphic record. Through producing new, independent records of past glacial fluctuations and associated climate change, this project will fundamentally improve our understanding of past Irish climate and glaciation. These results will in turn improve our understanding of wider regional and global change during a time of abrupt climate shifts, and will provide new region-specific data for climate and glacial models such as those integrated into CMIP and IPCC synthesis reports. The results of ACCTIR will therefore fundamentally strengthen efforts to develop robust climate mitigation and adaptation policies in Ireland and abroad.

Grant Approved

�574,919.90

Research Hub

Climate Change

Research Theme

Advancing Climate Science for Ireland

Start Date

31/03/2024

Initial Projected Completion Date

30/03/2028