Precipitation is an important component of the climate system. In this study, we consider the precipitation changes over the northern hemisphere for the winter months under glacial conditions in PMIP2 (Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project, phase 2) simulations. We first consider the results for different models and compare them qualitatively to paleo-reconstructions.
We then consider the decomposition of precipitation changes into different components, associated with evaporation rate, air temperature, atmospheric dynamics and relative humidity changes. We show that evaporation and stationary wave activity changes are suggested to be dominant to explain precipitation changes at the Last Glacial Maximum.