Radiative Forcing of Climate Change

Radiative Forcing of Climate Change

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2005-03-25

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 0309133505

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Changes in climate are driven by natural and human-induced perturbations of the Earth's energy balance. These climate drivers or "forcings" include variations in greenhouse gases, aerosols, land use, and the amount of energy Earth receives from the Sun. Although climate throughout Earth's history has varied from "snowball" conditions with global ice cover to "hothouse" conditions when glaciers all but disappeared, the climate over the past 10,000 years has been remarkably stable and favorable to human civilization. Increasing evidence points to a large human impact on global climate over the past century. The report reviews current knowledge of climate forcings and recommends critical research needed to improve understanding. Whereas emphasis to date has been on how these climate forcings affect global mean temperature, the report finds that regional variation and climate impacts other than temperature deserve increased attention.


Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years

Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2007-01-05

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 0309102251

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In response to a request from Congress, Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years assesses the state of scientific efforts to reconstruct surface temperature records for Earth during approximately the last 2,000 years and the implications of these efforts for our understanding of global climate change. Because widespread, reliable temperature records are available only for the last 150 years, scientists estimate temperatures in the more distant past by analyzing "proxy evidence," which includes tree rings, corals, ocean and lake sediments, cave deposits, ice cores, boreholes, and glaciers. Starting in the late 1990s, scientists began using sophisticated methods to combine proxy evidence from many different locations in an effort to estimate surface temperature changes during the last few hundred to few thousand years. This book is an important resource in helping to understand the intricacies of global climate change.


Aerosols and Climate

Aerosols and Climate

Author: Ken S. Carslaw

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2022-08-19

Total Pages: 856

ISBN-13: 0128231726

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The ever-diversifying field of aerosol effects on climate is comprehensively presented here, describing the strong connection between fundamental research and model applications in a way that will allow both experienced researchers and those new to the field to gain an understanding of a wide range of topics. The material is consistently presented at three levels for each topic: (i) an accessible "quick read" of the essentials, (ii) a more detailed description, and (iii) a section dedicated to how the processes are handled in models. The modelling section in each chapter summarizes the current level of knowledge and what the gaps in this understanding mean for the effects of aerosols on climate, enabling readers to quickly understand how new research fits into established knowledge. Definitions, case studies, reference data, and examples are included throughout. Aerosols and Climate is a vital resource for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, senior researchers, and lecturers in departments of atmospheric science, meteorology, engineering, and environment. It will also be of interest to those working in operational centers and policy-facing organizations, providing strong reference material on the current state of knowledge. - Includes a section in each chapter that focuses on the treatment of relevant aerosol processes in climate models - Provides clear exposition of the challenges in understanding and reducing persistent gaps in knowledge and uncertainties in the field of aerosol-climate interaction, going beyond the fundamentals and existing knowledge - Authored by experts in modeling and aerosol processes, analysis or observations to ensure accessibility and balance


Mixed-Phase Clouds

Mixed-Phase Clouds

Author: Constantin Andronache

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2017-09-28

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 012810550X

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Mixed-Phase Clouds: Observations and Modeling presents advanced research topics on mixed-phase clouds. As the societal impacts of extreme weather and its forecasting grow, there is a continuous need to refine atmospheric observations, techniques and numerical models. Understanding the role of clouds in the atmosphere is increasingly vital for current applications, such as prediction and prevention of aircraft icing, weather modification, and the assessment of the effects of cloud phase partition in climate models. This book provides the essential information needed to address these problems with a focus on current observations, simulations and applications. - Provides in-depth knowledge and simulation of mixed-phase clouds over many regions of Earth, explaining their role in weather and climate - Features current research examples and case studies, including those on advanced research methods from authors with experience in both academia and the industry - Discusses the latest advances in this subject area, providing the reader with access to best practices for remote sensing and numerical modeling


Climate Change Science

Climate Change Science

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2001-06-28

Total Pages: 41

ISBN-13: 0309183359

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The warming of the Earth has been the subject of intense debate and concern for many scientists, policy-makers, and citizens for at least the past decade. Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions, a new report by a committee of the National Research Council, characterizes the global warming trend over the last 100 years, and examines what may be in store for the 21st century and the extent to which warming may be attributable to human activity.


Atmospheric Aerosol Properties

Atmospheric Aerosol Properties

Author: Kirill Ya. Kondratyev

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2006-08-29

Total Pages: 595

ISBN-13: 3540376984

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This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of how aerosols form in the atmosphere through in situ processes as well as via transport from the surface (dust storms, seas spray, biogenic emissions, forest fires etc.). Such an analysis has been followed by the consideration of both observation data (various field observational experiments) and numerical modeling results to assess climate impacts of aerosols bearing in mind that these impacts are the most significant uncertainty in studying natural and anthropogenic causes of climate change.


Climate Stabilization Targets

Climate Stabilization Targets

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2011-02-11

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 0309208939

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Emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels have ushered in a new epoch where human activities will largely determine the evolution of Earth's climate. Because carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is long lived, it can effectively lock the Earth and future generations into a range of impacts, some of which could become very severe. Emissions reductions decisions made today matter in determining impacts experienced not just over the next few decades, but in the coming centuries and millennia. According to Climate Stabilization Targets: Emissions, Concentrations, and Impacts Over Decades to Millennia, important policy decisions can be informed by recent advances in climate science that quantify the relationships between increases in carbon dioxide and global warming, related climate changes, and resulting impacts, such as changes in streamflow, wildfires, crop productivity, extreme hot summers, and sea level rise. One way to inform these choices is to consider the projected climate changes and impacts that would occur if greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were stabilized at a particular concentration level. The book quantifies the outcomes of different stabilization targets for greenhouse gas concentrations using analyses and information drawn from the scientific literature. Although it does not recommend or justify any particular stabilization target, it does provide important scientific insights about the relationships among emissions, greenhouse gas concentrations, temperatures, and impacts. Climate Stabilization Targets emphasizes the importance of 21st century choices regarding long-term climate stabilization. It is a useful resource for scientists, educators and policy makers, among others.


Atmospheric Aerosols

Atmospheric Aerosols

Author: Claudio Tomasi

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2017-03-20

Total Pages: 706

ISBN-13: 3527336451

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Ein Blick auf die morphologischen, physikalischen und chemischen Eigenschaften von Aerosolen aus den unterschiedlichsten natürlichen und anthropogenen Quellen trägt zum besseren Verständnis der Rolle bei, die Aerosolpartikel bei der Streuung und Absorption kurz- und langwelliger Strahlung spielen. Dieses Fachbuch bietet Informationen, die sonst schwer zu finden sind, und vermittelt ausführlich die Kenntnisse, die erforderlich sind, um die mikrophysikalischen, chemischen und Strahlungsparameter zu charakterisieren, die bei der Wechselwirkung von Sonnen- und Erdstrahlen so überaus wichtig sind. Besonderes Augenmerk liegt auf den indirekten Auswirkungen von Aerosolen auf das Klima im Rahmen des komplexen Systems aus Aerosolen, Wolken und der Atmosphäre. Auch geht es vorrangig um die Wirkungen natürlicher und anthropogener Aerosole auf die Luftqualität und die Umwelt, auf die menschliche Gesundheit und unser kulturelles Erbe. Mit einem durchgängig lösungsorientierten Ansatz werden nicht nur die Probleme und Gefahren dieser Aerosole behandelt, sondern auch praktikable Lösungswege aufgezeigt.


Aerosol Forcing of Climate

Aerosol Forcing of Climate

Author: R. J. Charlson

Publisher:

Published: 1995-08-24

Total Pages: 460

ISBN-13:

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Global climate change as a consequence of anthropogenic changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere poses scientific questions of a nature and interdisciplinary scope that are unprecedented. Uncertainties in the climate forecast are large and thus far have hampered the establishment of a clear world plan for preventing or mitigating against unacceptable effects. The forecast of global and regional climate changes depends upon the development of a sound understanding of the factors that change the global heat balance and thus influence the climate. Changes in heat balance due to anthropogenic or externally imposed changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere are referred to as forcings. While the uncertainties in the global mean greenhouse-gas forcing are not negligible (??? 15%), uncertainties in forcings by changes in the atmospheric aerosol and in clouds are much larger, and in some cases even include uncertainty in the sign of the forcing. Reductionist science, with its compartmentalized disciplines, has not coped effectively with the scientific problems of aerosols and their effects, largely because of a need for simultaneous consideration of chemical processes, chemical properties, physical properties, and a wide variety of physical processes and consequences. In the case of natural aerosols and their effects on clouds, it is even necessary to include studies of microbiology and of biochemistry. This volume ? the record of intense, interdisciplinary debate between atmospheric chemists, meteorologists, physicists, and biogeochemists - considers the subset of climate forcings due to atmospheric aerosols, with particular emphasis on integrating the necessary disciplinary components. It is truly unique in its interdisciplinary approach. The information contained in the overview papers and summary reports will be of interest to policymakers and scientists alike. Goal of this Dahlem Workshop to assess the controlling factors, geographic and temporal variations of the radiative properties of atmospheric aerosols, and to examine the extent to which their forcing through direct and indirect effects counteracts greenhouse-gas forcing on regional and global climate.


Aerosol Science

Aerosol Science

Author: Ian Colbeck

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2014-02-03

Total Pages: 522

ISBN-13: 1119977924

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AEROSOL SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS Aerosols influence many areas of our daily life. They are at the core of environmental problems such as global warming, photochemical smog and poor air quality. They can also have diverse effects on human health, where exposure occurs in both outdoor and indoor environments. However, aerosols can have beneficial effects too; the delivery of drugs to the lungs, the delivery of fuels for combustion and the production of nanomaterials all rely on aerosols. Advances in particle measurement technologies have made it possible to take advantage of rapid changes in both particle size and concentration. Likewise, aerosols can now be produced in a controlled fashion. Reviewing many technological applications together with the current scientific status of aerosol modelling and measurements, this book includes: Satellite aerosol remote sensing The effects of aerosols on climate change Air pollution and health Pharmaceutical aerosols and pulmonary drug delivery Bioaerosols and hospital infections Particle emissions from vehicles The safety of emerging nanomaterials Radioactive aerosols: tracers of atmospheric processes With the importance of this topic brought to the public's attention after the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull, this book provides a timely, concise and accessible overview of the many facets of aerosol science.