The forecast: It seems there’s less chance of gloom and doom these days.
For sea level rise, now a maximum of about two feet by 2100. As for climate sensitivity, now for the first time ever, we are seeing mentions of a quadrupling of CO2 rather than a doubling to get scary scenarios. From Reuters:
Ice melt, sea level rise, to be less severe than feared – study
* Melt of Greenland, Antarctica less severe than expected
By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle
OSLO, May 14 (Reuters) – A melt of ice on Greenland and Antarctica is likely to be less severe than expected this century, limiting sea level rise to a maximum of 69 cm (27 inches), an international study said on Tuesday.
Even so, such a rise could dramatically change coastal environments in the lifetimes of people born today with ever more severe storm surges and erosion, according to the ice2sea project by 24, mostly European, scientific institutions.
Some scientific studies have projected sea level rise of up to 2 metres by 2100, a figure that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called a worst case that would swamp large tracts of land from Bangladesh to Florida.
Ice2sea, a four-year project to narrow down uncertainties of how melting ice will pour water into the oceans, found that sea levels would rise by between 16.5 and 69 cm under a scenario of moderate global warming this century.
“This is good news” for those who have feared sharper rises, David Vaughan, of the British Antarctic Survey who led the ice2sea project, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Full story here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/14/climate-ice-idUSL6N0DV2V420130514
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Now onto climate sensitivity. Pierre Gosselin reports on his blog NoTricksZone this passage from yesterday’s NYT story on climate sensitivity.
Some experts think the level of the heat-trapping gas could triple or even quadruple before emissions are reined in. […] Even if climate sensitivity turns out to be on the low end of the range, total emissions may wind up being so excessive as to drive the earth toward dangerous temperature increases.”
There you have it. Now climate scientists and the catastrophe-obsessed media are now forced, for perhaps the very first time, to talk about CO2 quadrupling in order to get the much wanted catastrophe scenarios.
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Hey, Jimbo (er, I mean WHATABOUTTHEFACTS — great name),
Nice comment. And IT’S STILL THERE (as of about 6PM, PST). Hm. I noticed it was posted around 12:30 AM, local time… it is now about… 3AM in London… Sigh. Probably only about 6 hours left to live… . IT WAS READ, though, Jimbo, many times, I’m sure. It was worth going back there yet a NINTH? time. You are a WUWT hero! An inspiration.
Interesting spin here. Aren’t these projections (at least at the top end) at the high end of the 4AR projections?
http://ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch10s10-es-8-sea-level.html
Small comfort, that…
Eric Simpson, LOL! “ALL the super models have done great big belly flops, every single one of them.”
Great post, heh, heh. Maybe it’s because I played with Barbies a lot (a LONG time ago, AndyG ;)), but I kept picturing the Barbies from “Toy Story II” flopping all over and being ridiculous.
Thanks for the laugh — boy, can we trutht ellers use one!
Flip Flop go the Climate Experts.
“…could triple or even quadruple before emissions are reined in….”
It is a stepdown all right.
Remember Hansen, and others, said we (humanity) would all be dead before then ….. now this suggests humanity will still be there doing some “reining in”
Okay, here’s a data point on which to hang a cartoon about snow and ice growing while alarmists make mountains out of molehill sea-level changes: Anthony’s new post on the late date of yet-to-happen Nenana ice break-up.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/05/14/nenana-ice-classic-now-running-4th-latest-ice-breakup/
Al, the Toy Story Teller’s “models” — “Check it out!”:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Barbie+dolls+in+Toy+Story+2&view=detail&mid=768B50DE8B0F34F427D9768B50DE8B0F34F427D9&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR
Dammit, we can’t not be doomed!
The claim that sea levels were strongly accelerating is based on the mistake of ignoring the natural 60-year oscillation of the climate system and of other oscillations extensively discussed in my papers, for example.
Essentially, the convexity of the sea level records from 1950 to 2010 due to the 60-year oscillation was mistaken for a background acceleration that was then extrapolated from 2000 to 2100.
These issues are extensively discussed in two recent papers of mine:
Scafetta N., 2013. Multi-scale dynamical analysis (MSDA) of sea level records versus PDO, AMO, and NAO indexes. Climate Dynamics. in press.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00382-013-1771-3
Scafetta N., 2013. Discussion on common errors in analyzing sea level accelerations, solar trends and global warming. Pattern Recognition in Physics, 1, 37–57. (open access)
http://www.pattern-recogn-phys.net/1/37/2013/prp-1-37-2013.html
The latter paper extensively discusses the sea level record of New York City case, and other typical cases usually mistaken by the AGW advocates during the last years.
The lower level prediction is just the trickle remaining after the last glaciation, 20k yrs ago ?
Robert in AZ…possibly the most interesting and thought-provoking thing I have ever seen on the internet. Thanks for sharing it.
What strikes me is that it represents the exact inverse of another effect described in the Eighties by one Rupert Sheldrake.
He argued that effects appear both more strongly and quickly with repetition. Can they both be right? He later fell into disreputable guff about telepathy in dogs. But the original topic has always stayed in my mind. Now youve provided its corollary.
Odds Are It’s Wrong.
http://commonsenseatheism.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Siegfried-Odds-Are-its-Wrong.pdf
The problem in Climate Science and science in general is that scientific papers are rarely if ever published if they show a negative result. Climate Science operates at the 95% confidence level, so 1/20 times you will get a false positive.
However, if Scientific Publishers only publish positive results, this means that the 1/20 false positive will end up published as though they were true, and the 19/20 true negatives that refute the false positive will never see the light of day. This allows all sorts of nonsense to be represented as scientific fact when in reality it is simply due to chance.
It is only later, when other researchers try and replicate the result that the false positives are slowly revealed. Which is a strong argument to consider ALL scientific publication as suspect until they are independently and repeatedly replicated. Today’s scientific breakthrough may be nothing more than chance coupled with publication bias.
“warmists in retreat on sea level rise, climate sensitivity … Now climate scientists and the catastrophe-obsessed media are now forced, for perhaps the very first time, to talk about CO2 quadrupling in order to get the much wanted catastrophe scenarios.”
=======================================================
I do not see it as a retreat at all. The tune is essentially the same: “we need to cut CO2 emissions or else…”
Cool!
Jim Strom says:
May 14, 2013 at 4:57 pm
“But that supposes that we won’t have discovered other more efficient and more plentiful forms of energy in the meantime. The chances for no such discovery seem quite low to me, with all the promising research that has already been reported.”
We already did that. It is called nuclear fission. It unfortunately has the major engineering and technical defect that it is politically incorrect.
I see one of the ‘mainstream’ warmist paper predicts, based on their analysis of the paleo data that the warming for a doubling of CO2 will be somewhere between 0.5C and 4C. (Idso 1998’s analysis of 8 real world step changes in temperature to determine the planet’s sensitivity to forcing, predicted a temperature rise of 0.45C for a doubling of atmospheric CO2.)
Observations and analysis supports a predicted 0.5C temperature rise for a doubling of atmospheric CO2, the lukewarm AGW theory. As the CO2 forcing is logarithmic, there will be another 0.5 C warming for the change from 560 ppm to 1120 ppm.
As it appears the planet is starting to cool, it appears the warmists are scurrying for cover.
If the planet starts to cool it will be interesting to listen to the tall tales concocted to explain what is causing the cooling (Hint: Weakest solar magnetic cycle in 150 years and followed by a Maunder minimum).
It will be difficult after calling the so called ‘skeptics’ deniers for 20 years, stating the climate science is settled, and 97% of all right thinking climate scientists support the extreme AGW theory, to admit that the extreme AGW theory was bunk and needs to be replaced by the lukewarm AGW theory.
The following are two additional fundamental observations, logic pillars, to support the lukewarm AGW theory.
1) NO TROPICAL TROPOSPHERIC WARMING
A fundamental pillar of the extreme AGW theory is the predicted tropical tropospheric warming at roughly 10 km is. If there is to be substantial warming of the planet (more than 1C for a doubling of atmospheric CO2) due to the increase atmospheric CO2, there needs to be tropical tropospheric warming to amplify CO2 warming. The observations indicate that there is neither warming in the tropics and in addition there is no tropical troposphere warming. These two observations support each other.
http://icecap.us/images/uploads/DOUGLASPAPER.pdf
We examine tropospheric temperature trends of 67 runs from 22 ‘Climate of the 20th Century’ model simulations and try to reconcile them with the best available updated observations (in the tropics during the satellite era). Model results and observed temperature trends are in disagreement in most of the tropical troposphere, being separated by more than twice the uncertainty of the model mean. In layers near 5 km, the modelled trend is 100 to 300% higher than observed, and, above 8 km, modelled and observed trends have opposite signs. These conclusions contrast strongly with those of recent publications based on essentially the same data. … …We have tested the proposition that greenhouse model simulations and trend observations can be reconciled. Our conclusion is that the present evidence, with the application of a robust statistical test, supports rejection of this proposition. (The use of tropical tropospheric temperature trends as a metric for this test is important, as this region represents the CEL and provides a clear signature of the trajectory of the climate system under enhanced greenhouse forcing.) On the whole, the evidence indicates that model trends in the troposphere are very likely inconsistent with observations that indicate that, since 1979, there is no significant long-term amplification factor relative to the surface. If these results continue to be supported, then future projections of temperature change, as depicted in the present suite of climate models, are likely too high.
2) PLANET RESISTS FORCING CHANGES RATHER THAN AMPLIFIES FORCING CHANGES
Tropical cloud cover increases or decreases, thereby reflecting more or less sunlight off into space which resists forcing changes, negative feedback.
This is the second paper by Lindzen and Choi on this subject. The warmist scientists had a number of criticisms concerning the first paper’s analysis techniques. Lindzen and Choi address every criticism with more data and multiple analysis techniques to confirm the conclusion is valid. Tropical planetary cloud cover increases or decreases to resist forcing, negative feedback. The warming due to a doubling of atmospheric CO2 will be less than 1C if the planet resists, rather amplifies the CO2 forcing.
http://www.johnstonanalytics.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/LindzenChoi2011.235213033.pdf
On the Observational Determination of Climate Sensitivity and Its Implications
Richard S. Lindzen1 and Yong-Sang Choi2
We estimate climate sensitivity from observations, using the deseasonalized fluctuations in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and the concurrent fluctuations in the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) outgoing radiation from the ERBE (1985-1999) and CERES (2000- 2008) satellite instruments. Distinct periods of warming and cooling in the SSTs were used to evaluate feedbacks. An earlier study (Lindzen and Choi, 2009) was subject to significant criticisms. The present paper is an expansion of the earlier paper where the various criticisms are taken into account. … ….We again find that the outgoing radiation resulting from SST fluctuations exceeds the zerofeedback response thus implying negative feedback. In contrast to this, the calculated TOA outgoing radiation fluxes from 11 atmospheric models forced by the observed SST are less than the zerofeedback response, consistent with the positive feedbacks that characterize these models. …. …However, warming from a doubling of CO2 would only be about 1C (based on simple calculations where the radiation altitude and the Planck temperature depend on wavelength in accordance with the attenuation coefficients of well mixed CO2 molecules; a doubling of any concentration in ppmv produces the same warming because of the logarithmic dependence of CO2’s absorption on the amount of CO2) (IPCC, 2007). This modest warming is much less than current climate models suggest for a doubling of CO2. Models predict warming of from 1.5C to 5C and even more for a doubling of CO2. Model predictions depend on the ‘feedback’ within models from the more important greenhouse substances, water vapor and clouds. Within all current climate models, water vapor increases with increasing temperature so as to further inhibit infrared cooling. Clouds also change so that their visible reflectivity decreases, causing increased solar absorption and warming of the earth. Cloud feedbacks are still considered to be highly uncertain (IPCC, 2007), but the fact that these feedbacks are strongly positive in most models is considered to be an indication that the result is basically correct. …
Both of the above papers support the sensitivity Idso found by analyzing real world step changes in temperature.
http://www.int-res.com/articles/cr/10//c010p069.pdf
Over the course of the past 2 decades, I have analyzed a number of natural phenomena that reveal how Earth’s near-surface air temperature responds to surface radiative perturbations. These studies all suggest that a 300 to 600 ppm doubling of the atmosphere’s CO2 concentration could raise the planet’s mean surface air temperature by only about 0.4°C. Even this modicum of warming may never be realized, however, for it could be negated by a number of planetary cooling forces that are intensified by warmer temperatures and by the strengthening of biological processes that are enhanced by the same rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration that drives the warming. Several of these cooling forces have individually been estimated to be of equivalent magnitude, but of opposite sign, to the typically predicted greenhouse effect of a doubling of the air’s CO2 content, which suggests to me that little net temperature change will ultimately result from the ongoing buildup of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere. Consequently, I am skeptical of the predictions of significant CO2-induced global warming that are being made by state-of-the-art climate models and believe that much more work on a wide variety of research fronts will be required to properly resolve the issue.
GCD is well under way.
The Glibbering Climb Down by these modern soothsayers has begun, unfortunately for them each of their claims of, “thats not what I said”, can be quickly and accurately debunked, using their own words.
Let the finger pointing and scapegoating begin.
How sad another vile anti-human cult has imploded.
jbutzi says:
May 14, 2013 at 4:29 pm
“Some experts think the level of the heat-trapping gas could triple or even quadruple before emissions are reined in”
This does not look at all like a clear admission of lower sensitivity as such…”
/////////////////////////////////////////
This statement, as written, is clearly not an admission of lower climate sensitivity. On its own it has nothing to do with cliamte sensitivity.
It is a statement of opinion as to how much emissions will rise before humans get on top of the ‘problem’ of curbing emissions.
This may be because some experts now realise that wind and solar do little to curb emissions because of the need for back up by conventionally powered generation. It may be that those experts consider that whilst developed nations may curb their own emissions, any such curbing will be more than offset by increasing emissions from developing nations. It may be that those experts now recognise that steps being taken to mitigate emissions is simply futile given globalisation and the sheer number of people living in developing countries. Who knows, may be those experts consider that the majority of CO2 emissions are not manmade and that there are natural processes involved which will mean that CO2 emissions will rise faster than man curbs his own emissions.
What is of interest is how much would emissions rise if we were to burn all presently known oil, gas and coal reserves. I have seen commentators suggesting that if we were to burn all known fossil fuel reserves we would not get above about 1200 ppm of CO2. However, I do not know whether such comments are based on hard evidence.
The interesting comment is the projected sea level rise. That may be an indicator that the ‘experts’ consider a lower climate sensitivity and hence less warming on a BAU basis.
Odds Are It’s Wrong.
http://commonsenseatheism.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Siegfried-Odds-Are-its-Wrong.pdf
Good article, thanks. And so true. Hypothesis testing is a game I have a lot of experience in, and p-value is indeed an oft-abused concept that even the supposedly wise get wrong.
Then there is the statistically significant fact that green jellybeans cause acne…
http://xkcd.com/882/
rgb
Isn’t this climbdown the millennialist way? When the prophesy of doom is clearly impossible, then move the event so far into the future (to keep up the FUD) that the prophesy cannot be refuted empirically.
There seems to be so many clips teenage girls on Youtube demonstrating you how to expand your shoes with plastic bags filled with water left inside the freezer for 2 hours. next to old cardboard toilet role tubes with condoms stretched over them that also seemed to be filled with expanded ice.
Martini and Coke Cola adverts or the best bit in Titanic showing that ice floats in water ,mainly below the water line.
No matter how much you melt the ice caps the Sea level always stays the same.
Wow! CO2 quadrupling.
Tell you what, now I really would like the answer to a great question posed by Elmer here, and that is this … What other components of air will be displaced from the PPM total by the C02 increase?
In other words, if C02 gets to 1000 ppm, what other gases will be “removed” from the air makeup? If those removed gases are better GHG’s than C02 the net effect with be less greenhouse effect ( naturally assuming air pressure remains constant ). Can’t wait to hear them try to slip out of this one 🙂
What would be great would be a complete table of air chemistry ratios detailing the atmosphere at the “super-safe” 250 ppm levels of the Little Ice Age, one for McKibben’s 350 ppm, one for now at 400 ppm and another for the quadrupling to 1000 ppm. Please make sure all ingredients total to one million in each case. Thank You! 😉
Mosher?
Yes, the green jellybean standard of significance in Climate Science. What a sham.
Blade, as with any other fringe change, Nitrogen and Oxygen will absorb all the details.