Earth system models (ESMs) are key tools for providing climate projections under different scenarios of human-induced forcing. ESMs include a large number of additional processes and feedbacks such as biogeochemical cycles that traditional physical climate models do not consider. Yet, some processes such as cloud dynamics and ecosystem functional response still have fairly high uncertainties. In this article, we present an overview of climate feedbacks for Earth system components currently included in state-of-the-art ESMs and discuss the challenges to evaluate and quantify them. Uncertainties in feedback quantification arise from the interdependencies of biogeochemical matter fluxes and physical properties, the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of processes, and the lack of long-term continuous observational data to constrain them. We present an outlook for promising approaches that can help to quantify and to constrain the large number of feedbacks in ESMs in the future. The target group for this article includes generalists with a background in natural sciences and an interest in climate change as well as experts working in interdisciplinary climate research (researchers, lecturers, and students). This study updates and significantly expands upon the last comprehensive overview of climate feedbacks in ESMs, which was produced 15 years ago (NRC, 2003).
1.Univ Bergen, Geophys Inst, Postboks 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway 2.Univ Bergen, Bjerknes Ctr Climate Res, Postboks 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway 3.NORCE Norwegian Res Ctr, Bergen, Norway 4.Deutsch Zentrum Luft & Raumfahrt DLR, Inst Phys Atmosphare, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany 5.Univ Bremen, Inst Environm Phys IUP, Bremen, Germany 6.Univ Exeter, Coll Engn Math & Phys Sci, Exeter, Devon, England 7.Univ Leeds, NCAS, Leeds, W Yorkshire, England 8.CEA CNRS UVSQ UPSaclay, Lab Sci Climat & Environm, Gif Sur Yvette, France 9.Univ Reading, Dept Meteorol, Reading, Berks, England 10.Catholic Univ Louvain, Earth & Life Inst, Georges Lemaitre Ctr Earth & Climate Res, Louvain La Neuve, Belgium 11.Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Atmospher & Ocean Sci, Los Angeles, CA USA 12.NERSC, Bergen, Norway 13.Lund Univ, Dept Phys Geog & Ecosyst Sci, Lund, Sweden 14.Swiss Fed Inst Technol, Inst Atmospher & Climate Sci, Zurich, Switzerland 15.Forschungszentrum Julich, Julich, Germany 16.Norwegian Meteorol Inst, Oslo, Norway 17.Royal Netherlands Meteorol Inst, De Bilt, Netherlands 18.Delft Univ Technol, Dept Geosci & Remote Sensing, Delft, Netherlands 19.CALTECH, Jet Prop Lab, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA 20.NASA, Goddard Inst Space Studies, New York, NY 10025 USA 21.Sorbonne Univ, CNRS IRD MNHN, Lab Oceanog & Climat, Inst Pierre Simon Laplace, Paris, France 22.Inst Marine Res, Bergen, Norway 23.Scripps Inst Oceanog, La Jolla, CA USA 24.Ludwig Maximilians Univ Munchen, Dept Geog, Munich, Germany
Recommended Citation:
Heinze, Christoph,Eyring, Veronika,Friedlingstein, Pierre,et al. ESD Reviews: Climate feedbacks in the Earth system and prospects for their evaluation[J]. EARTH SYSTEM DYNAMICS,2019-01-01,10(3):379-452