Quantifying climate feedbacks in polar regions

The concept of feedback is key in assessing whether a perturbation to a system is amplified or damped by mechanisms internal to the system. In polar regions, climate dynamics are controlled by both radiative and non-radiative interactions between the atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, ice sheets and land s...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature Communications
Main Authors: Goosse, Hugues, Jennifer Kay, Kyle Armour, Alejandro Bodas-Salcedo, Helene Chepfer, Docquier, David, Alexandra Jonko, Paul Kushner, Lecomte, Olivier, Massonnet, François, Hyo-Seok Park, Felix Pithan, Gunilla Svensson, Martin Vancoppenolle
Other Authors: UCL - SST/ELI/ELIC - Earth & Climate
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Sea ice
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/196784
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04173-0
Description
Summary:The concept of feedback is key in assessing whether a perturbation to a system is amplified or damped by mechanisms internal to the system. In polar regions, climate dynamics are controlled by both radiative and non-radiative interactions between the atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, ice sheets and land surfaces. Precisely quantifying polar feedbacks is required for a process-oriented evaluation of climate models, a clear understanding of the processes responsible for polar climate changes, and a reduction in uncertainty associated with model projections. This quantification can be performed using a simple and consistent approach that is valid for a wide range of feedbacks, offering the opportunity for more systematic feedback analyses and a better understanding of polar climate changes.

Similar Items