Fundamentals of climate change science

This chapter provides a high-level summary of the state of knowledge regarding observations, processes and models of climate, terrestrial ecosystems and the global carbon cycle. We focus strongly on observations (at various timescales, including palaeo timescales as appropriate), and what can be lea...

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Main Authors: Prentice, I. Colin, Baines, Peter G., Scholze, Marko, Wooster, Martin J.
Other Authors: Cornell, Sarah E., House, Joanna I., Downy, Catherine J.
Format: Book Part
Language:English
Published: 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/e0b9099b-3a55-4c5f-b0f1-04a71519c7ac
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511921155.005
http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921931780&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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spelling ftmacquarieunicr:oai:https://researchers.mq.edu.au:publications/e0b9099b-3a55-4c5f-b0f1-04a71519c7ac 2024-09-15T18:39:52+00:00 Fundamentals of climate change science Prentice, I. Colin Baines, Peter G. Scholze, Marko Wooster, Martin J. Cornell, Sarah E. Prentice, I. Colin House, Joanna I. Downy, Catherine J. 2009-01-01 https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/e0b9099b-3a55-4c5f-b0f1-04a71519c7ac https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511921155.005 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921931780&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Prentice , I C , Baines , P G , Scholze , M & Wooster , M J 2009 , Fundamentals of climate change science . in S E Cornell , I C Prentice , J I House & C J Downy (eds) , Understanding the Earth System : Global Change Science for Application . Cambridge , pp. 39-71 . https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511921155.005 bookPart 2009 ftmacquarieunicr https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511921155.005 2024-07-17T23:41:13Z This chapter provides a high-level summary of the state of knowledge regarding observations, processes and models of climate, terrestrial ecosystems and the global carbon cycle. We focus strongly on observations (at various timescales, including palaeo timescales as appropriate), and what can be learned from their interpretation in the light of the established principles of climate science and terrestrial ecosystem science. The field is very broad and therefore we have had to be highly selective. We discuss aspects pertinent to understanding recent and contemporary changes in climate and the global carbon cycle, with emphasis on the terrestrial component. Observing and studying climate. Background and history of climate science. Like the weather, everyone has an interest in climate and knows something about it. Climate is generally understood as average weather. By definition, climate cannot change from year to year; but it can (and does) change over decades and centuries. Until the 1970s, the study of climate was largely descriptive. The data were concentrated in certain regions, and often anecdotal. Nonetheless, as Lamb (1982) and others described, these data already showed the existence of a great deal of variability in climate on many timescales, and that this variability has had a pervasive impact on human societies. Climate also has a dominant effect on ecosystems. The patterns of terrestrial biomes, from dense tropical forests to high-latitude and mountain tundra and deserts, reflect spatial patterns of average temperature and rainfall and show that climate has had a profound role in shaping the ecology and evolution of land plants. Relationships between vegetation and climate formed the basis for Köppens (1918) classification of world climates, which allowed climate to be inferred from vegetation at a time when direct climate observations were sparse. Book Part Tundra Macquarie University Research Portal 39 71
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description This chapter provides a high-level summary of the state of knowledge regarding observations, processes and models of climate, terrestrial ecosystems and the global carbon cycle. We focus strongly on observations (at various timescales, including palaeo timescales as appropriate), and what can be learned from their interpretation in the light of the established principles of climate science and terrestrial ecosystem science. The field is very broad and therefore we have had to be highly selective. We discuss aspects pertinent to understanding recent and contemporary changes in climate and the global carbon cycle, with emphasis on the terrestrial component. Observing and studying climate. Background and history of climate science. Like the weather, everyone has an interest in climate and knows something about it. Climate is generally understood as average weather. By definition, climate cannot change from year to year; but it can (and does) change over decades and centuries. Until the 1970s, the study of climate was largely descriptive. The data were concentrated in certain regions, and often anecdotal. Nonetheless, as Lamb (1982) and others described, these data already showed the existence of a great deal of variability in climate on many timescales, and that this variability has had a pervasive impact on human societies. Climate also has a dominant effect on ecosystems. The patterns of terrestrial biomes, from dense tropical forests to high-latitude and mountain tundra and deserts, reflect spatial patterns of average temperature and rainfall and show that climate has had a profound role in shaping the ecology and evolution of land plants. Relationships between vegetation and climate formed the basis for Köppens (1918) classification of world climates, which allowed climate to be inferred from vegetation at a time when direct climate observations were sparse.
author2 Cornell, Sarah E.
Prentice, I. Colin
House, Joanna I.
Downy, Catherine J.
format Book Part
author Prentice, I. Colin
Baines, Peter G.
Scholze, Marko
Wooster, Martin J.
spellingShingle Prentice, I. Colin
Baines, Peter G.
Scholze, Marko
Wooster, Martin J.
Fundamentals of climate change science
author_facet Prentice, I. Colin
Baines, Peter G.
Scholze, Marko
Wooster, Martin J.
author_sort Prentice, I. Colin
title Fundamentals of climate change science
title_short Fundamentals of climate change science
title_full Fundamentals of climate change science
title_fullStr Fundamentals of climate change science
title_full_unstemmed Fundamentals of climate change science
title_sort fundamentals of climate change science
publishDate 2009
url https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/e0b9099b-3a55-4c5f-b0f1-04a71519c7ac
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511921155.005
http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921931780&partnerID=8YFLogxK
genre Tundra
genre_facet Tundra
op_source Prentice , I C , Baines , P G , Scholze , M & Wooster , M J 2009 , Fundamentals of climate change science . in S E Cornell , I C Prentice , J I House & C J Downy (eds) , Understanding the Earth System : Global Change Science for Application . Cambridge , pp. 39-71 . https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511921155.005
op_rights info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511921155.005
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