Climate Science for Serving Society

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxxi

   PDF

2. The World Climate Research Program Strategy and Priorities: Next Decade

   • Ghassem R. Asrar, James W. Hurrell, Antonio J. Busalacchi

   Pages 1-12

3. Challenges of a Sustained Climate Observing System

   • Kevin E. Trenberth, Richard A. Anthes, Alan Belward, Otis B. Brown, Ted Habermann, Thomas R. Karl et al.

   Pages 13-50

4. On the Reprocessing and Reanalysis of Observations for Climate

   • Michael G. Bosilovich, John Kennedy, Dick Dee, Rob Allan, Alan O’Neill

   Pages 51-71

5. Climate Processes: Clouds, Aerosols and Dynamics

   • Steven C. Sherwood, M. Joan Alexander, Andy R. Brown, Norm A. McFarlane, Edwin P. Gerber, Graham Feingold et al.

   Pages 73-103

6. Aerosol Cloud-Mediated Radiative Forcing: Highly Uncertain and Opposite Effects from Shallow and Deep Clouds

   • Daniel Rosenfeld, Robert Wood, Leo J. Donner, Steven C. Sherwood

   Pages 105-149

7. Improving Understanding of the Global Hydrologic Cycle

   • Peter H. Gleick, Heather Cooley, James S. Famiglietti, Dennis P. Lettenmaier, Taikan Oki, Charles J. Vörösmarty et al.

   Pages 151-184

8. Land Use and Land Cover Changes and Their Impacts on Hydroclimate, Ecosystems and Society

   • Taikan Oki, Eleanor M. Blyth, Ernesto Hugo Berbery, Domingo Alcaraz-Segura

   Pages 185-203

9. Prediction from Weeks to Decades

   • Ben Kirtman, David Anderson, Gilbert Brunet, In-Sik Kang, Adam A. Scaife, Doug Smith

   Pages 205-235

10. Assessing the Reliability of Climate Models, CMIP5

    • Bart van den Hurk, Pascale Braconnot, Veronika Eyring, Pierre Friedlingstein, Peter Gleckler, Reto Knutti et al.

    Pages 237-248

11. Changes in Variability Associated with Climate Change

    • Karen H. Rosenlof, Laurent Terray, Clara Deser, Amy Clement, Hugues Goosse, Sean Davis

    Pages 249-271

12. Understanding and Predicting Climate Variability and Change at Monsoon Regions

    • Carolina Vera, William Gutowski, Carlos R. Mechoso, B. N. Goswami, Chris C. Reason, Chris D. Thorncroft et al.

    Pages 273-306

13. Attribution of Weather and Climate-Related Events

    • Peter A. Stott, Myles Allen, Nikolaos Christidis, Randall M. Dole, Martin Hoerling, Chris Huntingford et al.

    Pages 307-337

14. Climate Extremes: Challenges in Estimating and Understanding Recent Changes in the Frequency and Intensity of Extreme Climate and Weather Events

    • Francis W. Zwiers, Lisa V. Alexander, Gabriele C. Hegerl, Thomas R. Knutson, James P. Kossin, Phillippe Naveau et al.

    Pages 339-389

15. Carbon Dioxide and Climate: Perspectives on a Scientific Assessment

    • Sandrine Bony, Bjorn Stevens, Isaac H. Held, John F. Mitchell, Jean-Louis Dufresne, Kerry A. Emanuel et al.

    Pages 391-413

16. Atmospheric Composition, Irreversible Climate Change, and Mitigation Policy

    • Susan Solomon, Raymond T. Pierrehumbert, Damon Matthews, John S. Daniel, Pierre Friedlingstein

    Pages 415-436

17. Building Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change in Less Developed Countries

    • Maria Carmen Lemos, Arun Agrawal, Hallie Eakin, Don R. Nelson, Nathan L. Engle, Owen Johns

    Pages 437-457

18. A Climate and Health Partnership to Inform the Prevention and Control of Meningoccocal Meningitis in Sub-Saharan Africa: The MERIT Initiative

    • Madeleine C. Thomson, E. Firth, M. Jancloes, A. Mihretie, M. Onoda, S. Nickovic et al.

    Pages 459-484

This volume offers a comprehensive survey and a close analysis of efforts to develop actionable climate information in support of vital decisions for climate adaptation, risk management and policy. Arising from submissions and discussion at the 2011 Open Science Conference (OSC) of the World Climate Research Program (WCRP), the book addresses research and intellectual challenges which span the full range of Program activities.

• Climate and human health
• Climate and sustainable development
• Climate and weather extremes
• Climate prediction
• Climate services

• World Climate Research Programme, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva 2, Switzerland

  Ghassem R. Asrar

• Earth System Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, USA

  James W. Hurrell

Policies and ethics