The growing concentrations of the greenhouse gases CO2, CH4 and N2O (GHG) in the atmosphere are often considered as the dominant cause for the global warming during the past decades. The reported temperature data however do not display a simple correlation with the concentration changes since 1880 so that other reasons are to be considered to contribute notably. An important feature in this context is the shrinking of the polar ice caps observed in recent years. We have studied the direct effect of the loss of global sea ice since 1955 on the mean global temperature estimating the corresponding decrease of the terrestrial albedo. Using a simple 1-dimensional model the global warming of the surface is computed that is generated by the increase of GHG and the albedo change. A modest effect by the GHG of 0.08 K is calculated for the period 1880 to 1955 with a further increase by 0.18K for 1955 to 2015. A larger contribution of 0.55 +/-0.05 K is estimated for the melting of polar sea ice (MSI) in the latter period, i.e. it notably exceeds that of the GHG and may be compared with the observed global temperature rise of 1.0 +/- 0.1 K during the past 60 years. Our data also suggest a delayed response of the mean global temperature to the loss of sea ice with a time constant of approximately 20 years. The validity of the theoretical model and the interrelation between GHG-warming and MSI-effect are discussed.
The Arctic sea ice represents an important energy reservoir for the climate of the northern hemisphere. The shrinking of the polar ice in the past decades decreases the stored energy and raises serious concerns about future climate changes.[1-4] Model calculations of the present authors [5,6] suggest that half of the global warming during the past fifty years is directly related to the retreat of the sea ice, while the cause is not well understood, e.g. the role of surface pollution [7-10]. We have analysed the reported annual melting and freezing data of the northern sea ice in the years 1979…
The importance of the sea ice retreat in the polar regions for the global warming and the role of ice-albedo feedback was recognized by various authors [1,2]. Similar to a recent study of the phenomenon in the Arctic [3] we present a semi-quantitative estimate of the mechanism for the Southern Hemisphere (SH). Using a simple model, we estimate the contribution of ice-albedo feedback to the mean temperature increase in the SH to be 0.5 +/- 0.1 K in the years 1955 to 2015, while from the simultaneous growth of the greenhouse gases (GHG) we derive a direct warming of only 0.2 +/- 0.05 K in the sa…
The importance of snow cover and ice extent in the Northern Hemisphere was recognized by various authors leading to a positive feedback of surface reflectivity on climate. In fact, the retreat of Arctic sea ice is accompanied by enhanced solar input in the Arctic region, i.e. a decrease of the terrestrial albedo. We have studied this effect for the past six decades and estimate the corresponding global warming in the northern hemisphere. A simple 1-dimensional model is used that includes the simultaneous increase of the greenhouse gases. Our results indicate that the latter directly cause a te…
Based on the meteorological data from 1960 to 2010, we investigated the temperature variation in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) by using Mann-Kendall nonparametric test and explored the correlation between the temperature in the cold season and the Siberian high intensity (SHI) by using correlation analysis method. The main results are that (a) the temperature in YRD increased remarkably during the study period, (b) the warming trend in the cold season made the higher contribution to annual warming, and (c) there was a significant negative correlation between the temperature in the cold season …
Herein I respond to the criticism and to the complains by Benestad (Pattern Recogn. Phys. 1, 91-92, 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/prp-1-91-2013) of Scafetta (Pattern Recogn. Phys. 1, 37-57, 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/prp-1-37-2013) that I found misleading and not tenable. More significantly, Benestad did not find any physical nor mathematical error in Scafetta's work. Thus, Scafetta scientific results remain fully confirmed.
Virginia's barrier islands constitute one of the most undeveloped shorelines of the eastern US. Aside from a few islands in the north, the islands are uninhabited and managed for conservation. These islands play important environmental, cultural, and economic roles along Virginia's Eastern Shore. Climate change driven sea-level rise is already having a major impact on these islands and threatens their existence. We utilize transect analysis across each of the barrier islands to depict the shoreline change trends annually from 1850 to 2010. We then utilize time series forecasting and panel mode…
This paper aims to better understand why there was a global warming pause in 2000-2015 and why the global mean surface temperature (GMST) has risen again in recent years. We present and statistically analyze substantial time-series observed datasets of global lower stratospheric temperature (GLST), troposphere-stratosphere temperature climatology, global land surface air temperature, GMST, sea ice extent (SIE) and snow cover extent (SCE), combined with modeled calculations of GLSTs and GMSTs. The observed and analyzed results show that GLST/SCE has stabilized since the mid-1990s with no signif…
Errors in applying regression models and wavelet filters used to analyze geophysical signals are discussed: (1) multidecadal natural oscillations (e.g. the quasi 60-year Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)) need to be taken into account for properly quantifying anomalous accelerations in tide gauge records such as in New York City; (2) uncertainties and multicollinearity among climate forcing functions prevent a proper evaluation of the solar contribution to the 20th century global surface temperature warming using ove…
In an effort to understand the dynamics of the Arctic sea-ice edge, we present a simple model of heat and mass transfer in the Fram Strait that reveals some fundamental mechanisms controlling sea-ice extent in the marginal seas and the depth and properties of the Arctic mixed layer. We identify and study key mechanisms relating to the sea-ice wedge described by Untersteiner, a boundary-layer structure near the ice edge, demonstrating how ice thickness and extent depend on ice-export rates, atmospheric forcing and the properties of incoming warm and salty Atlantic water in the West Spitsbergen …
Analyses of near-surface air temperature T in Poland for 1781-2016 and in Tbilisi (Georgia) for 1881-2016 have been carried out. We show that the centenary warming effect in Poland and in Tbilisi has almost the same peculiarities. An average centenary warming effect deltaT = (1.08+/-0.29) C is observed in Poland and in Tbilisi for 1881-2016. A warming effect is larger in winter season (deltaT = ~1.15 C) than in other seasons (average warming effect for these seasons deltaT = ~0.95 C). We show that a centenary warming is mainly related to the change of solar activity (estimated by sunspot numbe…
A search has been made for a contribution of the changing cosmic ray intensity to the global warming observed in the last century. The cosmic ray intensity shows a strong 11 year cycle due to solar modulation and the overall rate has decreased since 1900. These changes in cosmic ray intensity are compared to those of the mean global surface temperature to attempt to quantify any link between the two. It is shown that, if such a link exists, the changing cosmic ray intensity contributes less than 8% to the increase in the mean global surface temperature observed since 1900.
The Last Interglacial (LIG) stage, with polar temperatures likely 3-5 C warmer than today, serves as a partial analogue for low-end future warming scenarios. Based upon a small set of local sea level indicators, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) inferred that LIG global sea level (GSL) was about 4-6 m higher than today. However, because local sea levels differ from GSL, accurately reconstructing past GSL requires an integrated analysis of globally distributed data sets. Here we compile an extensive database of sea level indicators and apply a novel statistical approach that …
Global warming is affecting our Earth's environment. For example, sea level is rising with thermal expansion of water and fresh water input from the melting of continental ice sheets due to human-induced global warming. However, observing and modeling Earth's surface change has larger uncertainties in the changing rate and the scale and distribution of impacts due to the lack of direct measurements. Nowadays, the Earth observation from space provides a unique opportunity to monitor surface mass transfer and deformations related to climate change, particularly the global positioning system (GPS…
During the last ice age there were several quasi-periodic abrupt warming events. The climatic effects of the so-called Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events were felt globally, although the North Atlantic experienced the largest and most abrupt temperature anomalies. Similar but weaker oscillations also took place during the interglacial period. This paper proposes an auto-oscillatory mechanism between sea ice and convective deep water formation in the north Atlantic as the source of the persistent cycles. A simple dynamical model is constructed by coupling and slightly modifying two existing models …
In light of the rapid recent retreat of Arctic sea ice, a number of studies have discussed the possibility of a critical threshold (or "tipping point") beyond which the ice-albedo feedback causes the ice cover to melt away in an irreversible process. The focus has typically been centered on the annual minimum (September) ice cover, which is often seen as particularly susceptible to destabilization by the ice-albedo feedback. Here we examine the central physical processes associated with the transition from ice-covered to ice-free Arctic Ocean conditions. We show that while the ice-albedo feedb…
Could anthropogenic saturation with pumped seawater of the porous ground of active sand dune fields in major deserts (e.g., the westernmost Sahara) cause a beneficial reduction of global sea level? Seawater extraction from the ocean, and its deposition on deserted sand dune fields in Mauritania and elsewhere via a Solar-powered Seawater Textile Pipeline (SSTP) can thwart the postulated future global sea level. Thus, Macro-engineering offers an additional cure for anticipated coastal change, driven by global sea level rise, that could supplement, or substitute for (1) stabilizing the shoreline …
Seasonal patterns associated with stress modulation, as evidenced by earthquake occurrence, have been detected in regions characterized by present day mountain building and glacial retreat in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Himalaya and the Alps, seismicity is peaking in spring and summer; opposite behaviour is observed in the Apennines. This diametrical behaviour, confirmed by recent strong earthquakes, well correlates with the dominant tectonic regime: peak in spring and summer in shortening areas, peak in fall and winter in extensional areas. The analysis of the seasonal effect is extended …
Abrupt and irreversible winter Arctic sea-ice loss may occur under anthropogenic warming due to the collapse of a sea-ice equilibrium at a threshold value of CO$_2$, commonly referred to as a tipping point. Previous work has been unable to conclusively identify whether a tipping point in Arctic sea ice exists because fully-coupled climate models are too computationally expensive to run to equilibrium for many CO$_2$ values. Here, we explore the deviation of sea ice from its equilibrium state under realistic rates of CO$_2$ increase to demonstrate how a few time-dependent CO$_2$ experiments can…
Hierarchical Testing of a Hybrid Machine Learning-Physics Global Atmosphere Model
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory（太平洋西北国家实验室）；Ocean University of China（中国海洋大学）；Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大气物理研究所）
Various interpretations of the notion of a trend in the context of global warming are discussed, contrasting the difference between viewing a trend as the deterministic response to an external forcing and viewing it as a slow variation which can be separated from the background spectral continuum of long-range persistent climate noise. The emphasis in this paper is on the latter notion, and a general scheme is presented for testing a multi-parameter trend model against a null hypothesis which models the observed climate record as an autocorrelated noise. The scheme is employed to the instrumen…
The variation in the Arctic sea ice is dominated by the seasonal cycle with little inter-annual correlation. Though the mean sea ice area has decreased steadily in the period of satellite observations, a dramatic transition in the dynamics was initiated with the record low September ice area in 2007. The change is much more pronounced in the amplitude of the seasonal cycle than in the annual mean ice area. The shape of the seasonal cycle is surprisingly constant for the whole observational record despite the general decline. A simple explanation, independent of the increased greenhouse warming…
Climate change, amplified in the far north, has led to rapid sea ice decline in recent years. In the summer, melt ponds form on the surface of Arctic sea ice, significantly lowering the ice reflectivity (albedo) and thereby accelerating ice melt. Pond geometry controls the details of this crucial feedback; however, a reliable model of pond geometry does not currently exist. Here we show that a simple model of voids surrounding randomly sized and placed overlapping circles reproduces the essential features of pond patterns. The only two model parameters, characteristic circle radius and coverag…
