Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

OKIsItJustMe

(19,937 posts)
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 05:04 PM Jun 2016

Warning from the past: Future global warming could be even warmer

http://www.nbi.ku.dk/english/news/news16/warning-from-the-past-future-global-warming-could-be-even-warmer/
[font face=Serif]23 June 2016

[font size=5]Warning from the past: Future global warming could be even warmer[/font]

[font size=4]Climate: Future global warming will not only depend on the amount of emissions from man-made greenhouse gasses, but will also depend on the sensitivity of the climate system and response to feedback mechanisms. By reconstructing past global warming and the carbon cycle on Earth 56 million years ago, researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute among others have used computer modelling to calculate the potential perspective for future global warming, which could be even warmer than previously thought. The results are published in the scientific journal, Geophysical Research Letters.[/font]

[font size=3]Global warming from greenhouse gas emissions depends not only on the size of the emissions, but also on the warming effect that the extra amount of gas has on the atmosphere. This effect, called climate sensitivity, is usually defined as the warming caused by the doubling of the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Climate sensitivity depends on a number of properties of the earth’s climate system, such as the composition of clouds and cloud cover.

“The research shows that climate sensitivity was higher during the past global, warm climate than in the current climate. This is bad news for humanity as greater climate sensitivity from warming will further amplify the warming,” says Professor Gary Shaffer, University of Magallanes, Chile, and the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen.

[font size=5]The past tells about the future[/font]

The study was based on reconstructions and climate modelling of a period of global warming 56 million years ago. The period known as the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was triggered by massive releases of carbon into the atmosphere and climate researchers have long identified it as a time that could in some ways be analogous to today’s global warming.

…[/font][/font]
1 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Warning from the past: Future global warming could be even warmer (Original Post) OKIsItJustMe Jun 2016 OP
it's not just the much warmer temps, it is the colder temps too, thanks to climate change. tonyt53 Jun 2016 #1
 

tonyt53

(5,737 posts)
1. it's not just the much warmer temps, it is the colder temps too, thanks to climate change.
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 05:07 PM
Jun 2016

Extremes from one end to the other, both temps and precipitation.

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Environment & Energy»Warning from the past: Fu...