Learning about future climate from Earth's deep past - Multimedia Gallery

 

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The magnitude of climate change during Earth’s deep past suggests that future temperatures may eventually rise far more than projected if society continues emitting greenhouse gases at the current pace, a new analysis concludes. 

In a "Perspectives" article in Science, Jeffrey Kiehl (NCAR) pulls together several recent studies that look at various aspects of the climate system, while adding a mathematical approach to estimate average global temperatures in the distant past. The analysis of the climate system’s response to elevated levels of carbon dioxide is supported by previous studies.

 

 

 

A pair of chinstrap penguins in Antarctica. New research suggests that, if carbon dioxide emissions continue on their current trajectory, Earth may return to a climate of tens of millions of years ago when the Antarctic ice sheet did not exist. (©UCAR, Photo by Andrew Watt. This image is freely available for media use. For more information, see Media & nonprofit use.*)

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