Climate Feedbacks: Magnitude and Uncertainty in Global Warming

Most of the changes in climate that are projected to occur over the 21st century will not result directly from the human emission of greenhouse gases, but from natural feedbacks within the climate system that amplify its sensitivity to these emissions. Some of these feedbacks are well constrained by theory and observations, while others are not. This lecture outlines our understanding of the main feedback processes in the climate system and how they impact both the magnitude of future changes in Earth’s climate and the uncertainty in our predictions of these changes.

Brian J. Soden, Ph.D. is Professor of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography at the Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami. Dr. Soden specializes in the use of satellite observations to test and improve computer model simulations of climate change. He has published over 80 publications on a variety of topics, but most often related to the response of the climate system to global warming.