In:
Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, American Geophysical Union (AGU), Vol. 79, No. 15 ( 1998-04-14), p. 188-188
Abstract:
In a recent Forum piece that discusses climate variability ( Eos , December 16, 1997), S. F. Singer claims that “a higher CO 2 level may be less dangerous to the climate system than a lower one.” The basis for this reasoning is the observation that during the last Ice Age, CO 2 levels (∼200 ppmV) were lower than pre‐Industrial Revolution Holocene levels (∼280 ppmV), yet the climate system was apparently more unstable than during the Holocene. Singer neglects to add that, in addition to CO 2 , other Ice Age global boundary conditions were very different from today's, notably larger continental ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere, higher levels of aerosols, and colder sea‐surface temperatures. Climatic variations associated with these boundary conditions are not completely understood, but clearly singling out CO 2 grossly oversimplifies the complexity of the climate system and the underlying causes of climate variability.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0096-3941
,
2324-9250
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Publication Date:
1998
detail.hit.zdb_id:
24845-9
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2118760-5
detail.hit.zdb_id:
240154-X
SSG:
16,13
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