2003/10/01 by Jason Goodman, Raymond T. Pierrehumbert · 5 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils #Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
paper · doi:10.1029/2002jc001471
openalex publication_date 2003/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Simulations of frigid Neoproterozoic climates have not considered the tendency of thick layers of floating marine ice to deform and spread laterally. We have constructed a simple model of the production and flow of marine ice on a planetary scale, and determined ice thickness and flow in two situations: when the ocean is globally ice‐covered (“hard snowball”) and when the tropical waters remain open (“soft snowball”). In both cases, ice flow strongly affects the distribution of marine ice. Flowing ice probably carries enough latent heat and freshwater to significantly affect the transition into a Snowball Earth climate. We speculate that flowing marine ice, rather than continental ice sheets, may be the erosive agent that created some Neoproterozoic glacial deposits.