[News] December 20, 2009 Global warming likely to be amplified by slow changes to E

[Michaelangelica]

 

 

 

December 20, 2009

Global warming likely to be amplified by slow changes to Earth systems

 

By Tim Stephens (831) 459-2495; stephensampersanducsc.edu

 

 

Researchers studying a period of high carbon dioxide levels and warm climate several million years ago have concluded that slow changes such as melting ice sheets amplified the initial warming caused by greenhouse gases.

 

The study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, found that a relatively small rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels was associated with substantial global warming about 4.5 million years ago during the early Pliocene.

 

Coauthor Christina Ravelo, professor of ocean sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said the study indicates that the sensitivity of Earth's temperature to increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is greater than has been expected on the basis of climate models that only include rapid responses.

Global warming likely to be amplified by slow changes to Earth systems