2017/05/21 by Hans Engler, Engler, Hans, Hans G. Kaper +5
Computer Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #34E10 #34E13 #86-02 #Dynamical Systems (math.DS) #Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution #FOS: Mathematics #Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern Formation #Scientific Research and Discoveries
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1705.07387
openalex publication_date 2017/05/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This article is concerned with the dynamics of glacial cycles observed in the geological record of the Pleistocene Epoch. It focuses on a conceptual model proposed by Maasch and Saltzman [J. Geophys. Res.,95, D2 (1990), pp. 1955-1963], which is based on physical arguments and emphasizes the role of atmospheric CO2 in the generation and persistence of periodic orbits (limit cycles). The model consists of three ordinary differential equations with four parameters for the anomalies of the total global ice mass, the atmospheric CO2 concentration, and the volume of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). In this article, it is shown that a simplified two-dimensional symmetric version displays many of the essential features of the full model, including equilibrium states, limit cycles, their basic bifurcations, and a Bogdanov-Takens point that serves as an organizing center for the local and global dynamics. Also, symmetry breaking splits the Bogdanov-Takens point into two, with different local dynamics in their neighborhoods.