Lessons on Climate Sensitivity From Past Climate Changes

Anna S. von der Heydt; Henk A. Dijkstra; Roderik S.W. van de Wal; Sebastian Bathiany

doi:10.1007/s40641-016-0049-3

Lessons on Climate Sensitivity From Past Climate Changes

Anna S. von der Heydt, Henk A. Dijkstra, Roderik S.W. van de Wal, Sebastian Bathiany

Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Over the last decade, our understanding of climate sensitivity has improved considerably. The climate system shows variability on many timescales, is subject to non-stationary forcing and it is most likely out of equilibrium with the changes in the radiative forcing. Slow and fast feedbacks complicate the interpretation of geological records as feedback strengths vary over time. In the geological past, the forcing timescales were different than at present, suggesting that the response may have behaved differently. Do these insights constrain the climate sensitivity relevant for the present day? In this paper, we review the progress made in theoretical understanding of climate sensitivity and on the estimation of climate sensitivity from proxy records. Particular focus lies on the background state dependence of feedback processes and on the impact of tipping points on the climate system. We suggest how to further use palaeo data to advance our understanding of the currently ongoing climate change.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	148-158
Journal	Current Climate Change Reports
Volume	2
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s40641-016-0049-3
Publication status	Published - 2016

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title = "Lessons on Climate Sensitivity From Past Climate Changes",

abstract = "Over the last decade, our understanding of climate sensitivity has improved considerably. The climate system shows variability on many timescales, is subject to non-stationary forcing and it is most likely out of equilibrium with the changes in the radiative forcing. Slow and fast feedbacks complicate the interpretation of geological records as feedback strengths vary over time. In the geological past, the forcing timescales were different than at present, suggesting that the response may have behaved differently. Do these insights constrain the climate sensitivity relevant for the present day? In this paper, we review the progress made in theoretical understanding of climate sensitivity and on the estimation of climate sensitivity from proxy records. Particular focus lies on the background state dependence of feedback processes and on the impact of tipping points on the climate system. We suggest how to further use palaeo data to advance our understanding of the currently ongoing climate change.",

author = "{von der Heydt}, {Anna S.} and Dijkstra, {Henk A.} and {van de Wal}, {Roderik S.W.} and Sebastian Bathiany",

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AU - Bathiany, Sebastian

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

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AB - Over the last decade, our understanding of climate sensitivity has improved considerably. The climate system shows variability on many timescales, is subject to non-stationary forcing and it is most likely out of equilibrium with the changes in the radiative forcing. Slow and fast feedbacks complicate the interpretation of geological records as feedback strengths vary over time. In the geological past, the forcing timescales were different than at present, suggesting that the response may have behaved differently. Do these insights constrain the climate sensitivity relevant for the present day? In this paper, we review the progress made in theoretical understanding of climate sensitivity and on the estimation of climate sensitivity from proxy records. Particular focus lies on the background state dependence of feedback processes and on the impact of tipping points on the climate system. We suggest how to further use palaeo data to advance our understanding of the currently ongoing climate change.

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