Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Changes in the Atmosphere:
Composition, Circulation
Changes in the
Hydrological Cycle
Changes in
Solar Inputs
Clouds
Atmosphere
N
2
, O
2
, Ar,
H
2
O, CO
2
, CH
4
, N
2
O, O
3
, etc.
Aerosols
Volcanic Activity
Atmosphere-Biosphere
Interaction
Atmosphere-Ice
Interaction
Precipitation-
Evaporation
Te rrestrial
Radiation
Heat
Exchange
Ice Sheet
Glacier
Wind
Stress
Human In
uences
Land-
Atmosphere
Interaction
Biosphere
Soil-Biosphere
Interaction
Sea Ice
Hydrosphere:
Ocean
Land Surface
Ice-Ocean Coupling
Cryoshpere:
Sea Ice, Ice Sheets, Glaciers
Hydrosphere:
Rivers & Lakes
Changes in the Ocean:
Circulation, Sea Level, Biogeochemistry
Changes in/on the Land Surface:
Orography, Land Use, Vegetation, Ecosystems
Figure 1.1 Schematic of the components of the global climate system (bold), their processes and
interactions (thin arrows) and some aspects that may change (bold arrows). From IPCC, 2001.
Figure 1.1
provides an excellent summary of the climate system, and it is
useful as a irst-order, nontechnical description. At the other end of the spec-
trum is the
Bretherton diagram
, shown in
Figure 1.2.
This detailed, perhaps a
bit overwhelming, schematic was constructed to characterize the full complex-
ity of climate. It is a remarkable and rich representation of the system, illus-
trating the many processes that influence climate on all time scales. It coalesces
historically separate fields of scientific inquiry—demonstrating that not only
atmospheric science and oceanography are relevant to climate science but that
various subdisciplines of geology, biology, physics, and chemistry—as well as
the social sciences—are all integral to an understanding of climate.
This is a very exciting and critical time in the field of climate dynamics.
There is reliable information that past climates were very different from to-
day's climate, so we know the system is capable of significant change. We also
understand that it is possible for the system to change quickly. The chemical
composition of the atmosphere is changing before our eyes, and satellite- and
earth-based observing networks allow us to monitor changes in climate fairly
accurately.
Clearly, this one text on climate dynamics cannot cover the full breadth
of this wide-ranging and rapidly developing field, but it provides the reader
with the fundamentals—the background needed for a basic understanding of
