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Climate Response to Greenhouse Warming: The Role of the Ocean

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Climate and Geo-Sciences

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIC,volume 285))

Abstract

The scientific community is now confronted with unambiguous evidence that the abundance of radiatively important gases in the atmosphere is changing. The scientific tools exist to calculate the effect of these gases on the Earth’s radiation balance. Is it then possible to draw firm conclusions with respect to projected climate change over the next half century? The answer is no, even if all processes internal to the atmosphere were completely understood. Climate change does not depend on the radiation balance of the atmosphere alone, but on the entire climate system, which includes the oceans, the biosphere polar ice masses and sea ice. Climate projections into the next century cannot be made with confidence until the role of the extra-atmospheric components of climate are better understood.

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© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Bryan, K. (1989). Climate Response to Greenhouse Warming: The Role of the Ocean. In: Berger, A., Schneider, S., Duplessy, J.C. (eds) Climate and Geo-Sciences. NATO ASI Series, vol 285. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2446-8_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2446-8_24

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-0412-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-2446-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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