According to a new study, including paleoclimate data in the development of climate models could help scientists predict scenarios for future climate and propose strategies for mitigation.
According to a new study, including paleoclimate data in the development of climate models could help scientists predict scenarios for future climate and propose strategies for mitigation.
An international team of climate scientists, including Dr Benjamin Mills from the University of Leeds, suggest that numerical models predicting future climate change should include simulations of past climates in their evaluation and statement of their model performance.
Their study, published today in Science, highlights that as more and better information becomes available about Earth's distant climate history, this insight becomes increasingly relevant for improving understanding of how key elements of the climate system are affected by high greenhouse gas levels.
Unlike historic climate records, which typically only go back a century or two – a mere blink of an eye in the planet's climate history – paleoclimate data stretches back many millions of years before humans existed.
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Image via Oscar Sanisidro - University of Kansas.
