Publication Abstracts

Heinze et al. 2019

Heinze, C., V. Eyring, P. Friedlingstein, C. Jones, Y. Balkanski, W. Collins, T. Fichefet, S. Gao, A. Hall, D. Ivanova, W. Knorr, R. Knutti, A. Löw, M. Ponater, M.G. Schultz, M. Schulz, P. Siebesma, J. Teixeira, G. Tselioudis, and M. Vancoppenolle, 2019: Climate feedbacks in the Earth system and prospects for their evaluation. Earth Syst. Dyn., 10, 379-452, doi:10.5194/esd-10-379-2019.

Earth system models (ESMs) are key tools for providing climate projections under different scenarios of human-induced forcing. ESMs include a large number of additional processes and feedbacks such as biogeochemical cycles that traditional physical climate models do not consider. Yet, some processes such as cloud dynamics and ecosystem functional response still have fairly high uncertainties. In this article, we present an overview of climate feedbacks for Earth system components currently included in state-of-the-art ESMs and discuss the challenges to evaluate and quantify them. Uncertainties in feedback quantification arise from the interdependencies of biogeochemical matter fluxes and physical properties, the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of processes, and the lack of long-term continuous observational data to constrain them. We present an outlook for promising approaches that can help to quantify and to constrain the large number of feedbacks in ESMs in the future. The target group for this article includes generalists with a background in natural sciences and an interest in climate change as well as experts working in interdisciplinary climate research (researchers, lecturers, and students). This study updates and significantly expands upon the last comprehensive overview of climate feedbacks in ESMs, which was produced 15 years ago (NRC, 2003).

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BibTeX Citation

@article{he06300k,
  author={Heinze, C. and Eyring, V. and Friedlingstein, P. and Jones, C. and Balkanski, Y. and Collins, W. and Fichefet, T. and Gao, S. and Hall, A. and Ivanova, D. and Knorr, W. and Knutti, R. and Löw, A. and Ponater, M. and Schultz, M. G. and Schulz, M. and Siebesma, P. and Teixeira, J. and Tselioudis, G. and Vancoppenolle, M.},
  title={Climate feedbacks in the Earth system and prospects for their evaluation},
  year={2019},
  journal={Earth Syst. Dyn.},
  volume={10},
  pages={379--452},
  doi={10.5194/esd-10-379-2019},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - he06300k
AU  - Heinze, C.
AU  - Eyring, V.
AU  - Friedlingstein, P.
AU  - Jones, C.
AU  - Balkanski, Y.
AU  - Collins, W.
AU  - Fichefet, T.
AU  - Gao, S.
AU  - Hall, A.
AU  - Ivanova, D.
AU  - Knorr, W.
AU  - Knutti, R.
AU  - Löw, A.
AU  - Ponater, M.
AU  - Schultz, M. G.
AU  - Schulz, M.
AU  - Siebesma, P.
AU  - Teixeira, J.
AU  - Tselioudis, G.
AU  - Vancoppenolle, M.
PY  - 2019
TI  - Climate feedbacks in the Earth system and prospects for their evaluation
JA  - Earth Syst. Dyn.
VL  - 10
SP  - 379
EP  - 452
DO  - 10.5194/esd-10-379-2019
ER  -

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