We propose that past abrupt climate changes were probably a result of rapid and extensive variations in sea-ice cover. We explain why this seems a perhaps more likely explanation than a purely thermohaline circulation mechanism. We emphasize that because of the significant influence of sea ice on the climate system, it seems that high priority should be given to developing ways for reconstructi...

As liberal democracies, what can the United States, Europe, and Japan be expected to embrace as “democratic” solutions to global environmental problems such as climate change? It is our argument that contradictions in liberal democratic politics lead these states to advocate solutions that are nature-ascommodity oriented and that idealize the notion of “managed nature.” In the case of climate c...

Although the consequences of global warming in aquatic ecosystems are only beginning to be revealed, a key to forecasting the impact on aquatic communities is an understanding of individual species' vulnerability to increased temperature. Despite their microscopic size, phytoplankton support about half of the global primary production, drive essential biogeochemical cycles and represent the bas...

Previous climate model projections of climate change accounted for external forcing from natural and anthropogenic sources but did not attempt to predict internally generated natural variability. We present a new modeling system that predicts both internal variability and externally forced changes and hence forecasts surface temperature with substantially improved skill throughout a decade, bot...

Global warming and climate change will trigger major changes in diversity and abundance of arthropods, geographical distribution of insect pests, population dynamics, insect biotypes, herbivore plant interactions, activity and abundance of natural enemies, species extinction, and efficacy of crop protection technologies. Changes in geographical range and insect abundance will increase the exten...

Global climate--like local weather--is ever changing, on all time scales, in response to natural variations. For this reason, projections of global warming, resulting from increasing levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases, need to be set in the context of what has happened in the past. A knowledge of what has changed, and when and where, provides insights into why past changes have occurred. Su...

[1] Simulations with changed Southern Ocean wind‐stress, oceanic vertical mixing, surface freshwater forcing and global warming confirm the basic equations of Gnanadesikan’s (1999) theory for the Atlantic: one vertical scale, the pycnocline depth D, contributes inversely proportional to low‐latitudinal upwelling and linearly to Southern Ocean eddy transport. The maximum Atlantic overturning is ...

[1] We use five years of data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) to develop a correlation between the frequency of Deep Convective Clouds (DCC) and the zonal mean tropical surface temperature. AIRS data show that the frequency of DCC in the tropical oceans is very temperature sensitive, increasing 45% per 1 K increase of the zonal mean surface temperature. The combination of the sensi...

Food security assessment in sub-Saharan Africa requires simultaneous consideration of multiple socio-economic and environmental variables. Early identification of populations at risk enables timely and appropriate action. Since large and widely dispersed populations depend on rainfed agriculture and pastoralism, climate monitoring and forecasting are important inputs to food security analysis. ...

Prior research has found that affect and affective imagery strongly influence public support for global warming. This article extends this literature by exploring the separate influence of discrete emotions. Utilizing a nationally representative survey in the United States, this study found that discrete emotions were stronger predictors of global warming policy support than cultural worldviews...