Chapter 6

The ambitious among you can download and run a full-blown research-grade climate model. Look here for more information. There are a lot of simple on-line climate models that you can play around with. Steve Easterbrook has compiled a very useful list of them on his blog. 

One question the frequently comes up is to quantify the relative strengths of the various greenhouse gases. This paper answers that question:Lacis, A. A. et al. The role of long-lived greenhouse gases as principal LW control knob that governs the global surface temperature for past and future climate change. Tellus B, [S.l.], v. 65, nov. 2013.  

Here’s the answer: Water vapor is the most important (responsible for 50% of the greenhouse effect), followed by clouds (25%) and carbon dioxide (20%). It also explains why carbon dioxide is the "control knob" for the climate — without the warming from carbon dioxide, water vapor would condense out of the atmosphere and the greenhouse effect would disappear.

This fantastic video by Richard Alley explains why CO2 is the control knob of our climate.

If you want to read an advanced description of the historical evolution of the conceptualization, formulation, quantification, application, and utilization of “radiative forcing” (RF) of Earth’s climate, you’re in luck!

Some of the most scary climate scenarios involve carbon-cycle feedbacks; i.e., a warming climate melts permafrost, which releases methane or more carbon dioxide.  This article is an accessible discussion of the issue.

For more about the climate effects of volcanic eruptions, read this great NYT article about the impacts of the enormous Tambora eruption in 2015.

To understand how the scientific community arrived at the consensus climate sensitivity range discussed in the chapter, see this (quite techincal) paper.

Errata for second edition

On page 103, there is a reference to "Equation 6.4" in the second full paragraph.  This should be equation 6.3.