Comments gamoonbat has made

  • Ice sheet decay

    I do not think the omission was due to a lack of understanding about fundamental concepts. An exponential decrease would have to be represented with more sophisticated mathematics than are being used for the other sea level rate calculations. There are models, but they have not used them before and will have to tinker. They may not have a glaciologist on the panel right now.On The definitive word posted 2 years, 9 months ago 5 Responses

  • IPCC AR4

    You have an excellent summary. The only points I would take issue with are the criticism of the paleoclimate findings and the comment that there have been no breakthroughs in climate science during the past five years.

    While you are probably more familiar with the National Academies assessment than I am, my impression is that they did endorse the interpretation that the warmth of the last half century is unusual. This is not exactly the same thing as accepting without question the specific model of the "hockey stick" presented in 1998 by Mann, Bradley, and Hughes. Even those authors have admitted deficiencies in their original approach to combining proxy data with historical and instrumental records.

    Extending back to AD 1300 is new in AR4 and does reflect significant improvements in paleoclimate reconstructions, particularly the sampling resolution for ice cores. I also think the separate consideration of methane is a "breakthrough" of sorts that will continue to be very useful.

    The biggest breakthroughs that I have seen are in extending detailed paleoclimate reconstructions back even further, particularly into the Tertiary for the Arctic. We now know that the Arctic was completely ice-free following the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). That may not be on the front burner for those blogging about anthropogenic global warming, but it does have some huge implications. We are also starting to understand how rapid melting of ice sheets played a role in many of the Quaternary interstadials and "Heinrich events."On The scoop on the new IPCC climate-change report posted 2 years, 9 months ago 11 Responses

  • Letter

    It is good to know that scientists are writing letters like yours. You pared it down and kept away from personal and political issues. Hopefully it will be read.On And it ain't pretty posted 2 years, 10 months ago 6 Responses

  • Polling

    I wonder what the percent would be who believe the earth is round?On Warming people believe, humans at fault, not so much posted 2 years, 10 months ago 30 Responses