TY - JOUR
T1 - How warming and steric sea level rise relate to cumulative carbon emissions
AU - Williams, Richard G.
AU - Goodwin, Philip
AU - Ridgwell, Andy
AU - Woodworth, Philip L.
PY - 2012/10/22
Y1 - 2012/10/22
N2 - [1] Surface warming and steric sea level rise over the global ocean nearly linearly increase with cumulative carbon emissions for an atmosphere-ocean equilibrium, reached many centuries after emissions cease. Surface warming increases with cumulative emissions with a proportionality factor, ΔTsurface:2×CO 2/(I B ln 2), ranging from 0.8 to 1.9 K (1000 PgC) -1 for surface air temperature, depending on the climate sensitivity ΔTsurface:2×CO 2 and the buffered carbon inventory I B. Steric sea level rise similarly increases with cumulative emissions and depends on the climate sensitivity of the bulk ocean, ranging from 0.4 K to 2.7 K; a factor 0.4 ± 0.2 smaller than that for surface temperature based on diagnostics of two Earth System models. The implied steric sea level rise ranges from 0.7 m to 5 m for a cumulative emission of 5000 PgC, approached perhaps 500 years or more after emissions cease.
AB - [1] Surface warming and steric sea level rise over the global ocean nearly linearly increase with cumulative carbon emissions for an atmosphere-ocean equilibrium, reached many centuries after emissions cease. Surface warming increases with cumulative emissions with a proportionality factor, ΔTsurface:2×CO 2/(I B ln 2), ranging from 0.8 to 1.9 K (1000 PgC) -1 for surface air temperature, depending on the climate sensitivity ΔTsurface:2×CO 2 and the buffered carbon inventory I B. Steric sea level rise similarly increases with cumulative emissions and depends on the climate sensitivity of the bulk ocean, ranging from 0.4 K to 2.7 K; a factor 0.4 ± 0.2 smaller than that for surface temperature based on diagnostics of two Earth System models. The implied steric sea level rise ranges from 0.7 m to 5 m for a cumulative emission of 5000 PgC, approached perhaps 500 years or more after emissions cease.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84867559989&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1029/2012GL052771
DO - 10.1029/2012GL052771
M3 - Article (Academic Journal)
AN - SCOPUS:84867559989
SN - 0094-8276
VL - 39
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
JF - Geophysical Research Letters
IS - 19
M1 - L19715
ER -