Inez Fung Abstract

Inez Fung
UC Berkeley

"State of Climate Science"

ABSTRACT:

This talk reviews the physics of climate change, the challenges of interpreting the present-day climate record, and projecting future climate change. Radiative forcing from long-lived greenhouse gases and ozone added to the atmosphere from 1750-2005 amounts to 2.9+ / -0.3 w / m2. Feedbacks in the climate system act to amplify and / or diminish these forcing. Using ice-core record, Hansen estimates a feedback factor of 0.75+ / - 0.25 K/W/m2 forcing. This means that the long-lived greenhouse gases and ozone themselves have already put in a place of warming of >2K at equilibrium. Predicting how much how soon requires, to start, improved understanding of aerosol dymanics and turbulent mixing in the oceans.