The third phase of the National Climate Modelling Initiative (PalMod III) is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) via the Research for Sustainable Development (FONA) program as a follow-up project to PalMod. The aim of the project is to simulate a complete glacial-interglacial cycle using complex earth system models.

The joint project WP1.4 'Ice sheet instabilities' primarily supports the analysis, interpretation and synergy of the comprehensive ESM simulations of WG1. In particular, WP1.4 focuses on the interpretation of instabilities and so-called tipping points in the dynamic state of the ice sheets. On the long time scales considered in this project, which extend thousands of years into the past but also several centuries into the future, the deformation response of the solid Earth to load changes caused by the melting of the ice sheets plays an essential role. The associated gravitational and rotational changes of the Earth's body influence the sea level not only at the marine terminating glaciers, but also lead to a significant globally varying sea level change, the so-called 'sea-level fingerprint'.

The structural differences within the Antarctic are of crucial importance. The viscoelastic response of the mantle can vary regionally from a few years to several centuries, which has led to the discussion on the influence of lateral viscosity contrasts on the glacial development of the Antarctic ice sheet, which began in PalMod II and is continued here. Based on this study, the feedback mechanisms between the ice sheets, the sea level and the solid Earth are investigated. By further focusing on the Northern Hemisphere, the interaction of the ice sheets between the two polar regions is in focus, especially through the successful implementation of VILMA in CLIMBER-X.

Period: 01.09.2023 - 31.08.2026