Skip to main content

Nonlinearities, Feedbacks and Critical Thresholds within the Earth's Climate System

Climatic Change volume 65, pages 11–38 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

The Earth's climate system is highly nonlinear: inputs and outputs are not proportional, change is often episodic and abrupt, rather than slow and gradual, and multiple equilibria are the norm. While this is widely accepted, there is a relatively poor understanding of the different types of nonlinearities, how they manifest under various conditions, and whether they reflect a climate system driven by astronomical forcings, by internal feedbacks, or by a combination of both. In this paper, after a brief tutorial on the basics of climate nonlinearity, we provide a number of illustrative examples and highlight key mechanisms that give rise to nonlinear behavior, address scale and methodological issues, suggest a robust alternative to prediction that is based on using integrated assessments within the framework of vulnerability studies and, lastly, recommend a number of research priorities and the establishment of education programs in Earth Systems Science. It is imperative that the Earth's climate system research community embraces this nonlinear paradigm if we are to move forward in the assessment of the human influence on climate.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  • Alley, R. B., Clark, P. U., Keiwin, L. D., and Webb, R. S.: 1999,‘Making Sense of Millennial Scale Climate Change’, in Clark, P. U., Webb, R. S., and Keiwin, L. D. (eds.), Mechanisms of Global Climate Change at Millennial Time Scales, Amer. Geophys. Union, Geophys. Monogr . 112, 385–394.

  • Alley, R. B., Marotzke, J., Nordhaus, W. D., Overpeck, J. T., Peteet, D. M., Pielke Jr., R. A., Pier-Rehumbert, R. T., Rhines, P. B., Stocker, T. F., Talley, L. D., and Wallace, J. M.: 2003, ‘Abrupt Climate Change’, Science 299, 2005–2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aspen Global Change Institute: 1998, ‘Elements of Change 1997: Session One: Scaling from Site-Specific Observations to Global Model Grids’.

  • Beniston, M.: 1997, ‘Variations of Snow Depth and Duration in the Swiss Alps over the Last 50 Years: Links to Changes in Large-Scale Climatic Forcings’, Clim. Change 36, 281–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beniston, M. and Jungo, P.: 2002, ‘Shifts in the Distributions of Pressure, Temperature and Moisture and Changes in the Typical Weather Patterns in the Alpine Region in Response to the Behavior of the North Atlantic Oscillation’, Theor. Appl. Climatol. 71, 29–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, A. and Loutre, M. F.: 1991, ‘Insolation Values for the Climate of the Last 10 Million of Years’, Quat. Sci. Rev. 10(4), 297–317.

    Google Scholar 

  • Betts, R. A.: 2000, ‘Offset of the Potential Carbon Sink from Boreal Forestation by Decreases in Albedo’, Nature 408, 187–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonan, G. B., Pollard, D., and Thompson, S. L.: 1992, ‘Effects of Boreal Forest Vegetation on Global Climate’, Nature 359, 716–718.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braconnot, P., Joussaume, S., Marti, O., and de Noblet-Ducoudre, N.: 1999, ‘Synergistic Feedbacks from Ocean and Vegetation on the African Monsoon Response to Mid-Holocene Insolation’, Geophys. Res. Lett. 26, 2481–2484.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brovkin, V., Claussen, M., Petoukhov, V., and Ganopolski, A.: 1998, ‘On the Stability of the Atmosphere-Vegetation System in the Sahara/Sahel Region’, J. Geophys. Res. 103, 31613–31624.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buffett, B. A.: 2000, ‘Clathrate Hydrates’, Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 28, 477–508.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chase, T. N., Pielke, R. A., Kittel, T. G. F., Nemani, R. R., and Running, S. W.: 2000, ‘Simulated Impacts of Historical Land Cover Changes on Global Climate’, Clim. Dyn. 16, 93–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherney, J. and Stone, P. H.:1975, ‘Drought in the Sahara: A Biogeophysical Feedback Mechanism’, Science 187, 434–435.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, W. X.: 1999, ‘Rhizosphere Feedbacks in Elevated CO2’, Tree Physiol. 19, 313–320.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, P. U., Alley, R. B., and Pollard, D.: 1999, ‘Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheet Influences on Global Climate Change’, Science 286, 1104–1111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, P. U., Pisias, N. G., Stocker, T. F., and Weaver, A. J.: 2002, ‘The Role of the Thermohaline Circulation in Abrupt Climate Change, Nature 415, 863–869.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claussen, M.: 1997, ‘Modelling Biogeophysical Feedback in the African and Indian Monsoon Region’, Clim. Dyn. 13, 247–257.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claussen, M.: 2001, ‘Earth System Models’, in Ehlers, E. and Krafft, T. (eds.), Understanding the Earth System: Compartments, Processes and Interactions, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, pp. 145–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claussen, M. and Gayler, V.: 1997, ‘The Greening of Sahara during the Mid-Holocene: Results of an Interactive Atmosphere-Biome Model’, Global Ecol. Biogeog. Lett. 6, 369–377.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claussen, M., Kubatzki, C., Brovkin, V., Ganopolski, A., Hoelzmann, P., and Pachur, H. J.: 1999, ‘Simulation of an Abrupt Change in Saharan Vegetation at the End of the Mid-Holocene’, Geophys. Res. Lett. 26, 2037–2040.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claussen, M., Mysak, L. A., Weaver, A. J., Crucifix, M., Fichefet, T., Loutre, M.-F., Weber, S. L., Alcamo, J., Alexeev, V. A., Berger, A., Calov, R., Ganopolski, A., Goosse, H., Lohmann, G., Lunkeit, F., Mokhov, I. I., Petoukhov, V., Stone, P., and Wang, Z.: 2002, ‘Earth Systems Models of Intermediate Complexity: Closing the Gap in the Spectrum of Climate System Models’, Clim. Dyn. 18, 579–586.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, G. A., Pines, D., and Meltzer, D.: 1999, Complexity,Metaphors, Models and Reality, Perseus Books, Santa Fe Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, P. M., Betts, R. A., Jones, C. D., Spall, S. A., and Totterdell, I. J.: 2000, ‘Acceleration of Global Warming Due to Carbon-Cycle Feedbacks in a Coupled Climate Model’, Nature 408, 184–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronin, T. M. (1999): Principles of Paleoclimatology, Columbia U. Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeConto, R. and Pollard, D.: 2003, ‘Rapid Cenozoic Glaciation of Antarctica Induced by Declining Atmospheric CO2’, Nature 421, 245–249. deMenocal, P. B., Ortiz, J., Guilderson, T., Adkins, J., Sarnthein, M., Baker, L., and Yarusinsky, M.: 2000, ‘Abrupt Onset and Termination of the African Humid Period: Rapid Climate Response to Gradual Insolation Forcing’, Quat. Sci. Rev. 19, 347–361. de Noblet-Ducoudre, N. and Claussen, M.: 2001, ‘Mid-Holocene Greening of the Sahara: First Results of the GAIM6000 Year BP Experiment with Two Asynchronously Coupled Atmosphere/Biome Models’, Clim. Dyn. 16, 643–659.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doherty, R., Kutzbach, J., Foley, J., and Pollard, D.: 2000, ‘Fully Coupled Climate/Dynamical Vegetation Model Simulations over Northern Africa during the Mid-Holocene’, Clim. Dyn. 16, 561–573.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eastman, J. L., Coughenour, M. B., and Pielke, R. A. Sr.: 2001a, ‘The Effects of CO2 and Landscape Change Using a Coupled Plant and Meteorological Model’, Global Change Biol. 7, 797–815.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eastman, J. L., Coughenour, M. B., and Pielke, R. A. Sr.: 2001b, ‘Does Grazing Affect Regional Climate’, J. Hydrometeor. 2, 243–253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foley, J., Kutzbach, J. E., Coe, M. T., and Levis, S.: 1994, ‘Feedbacks between Climate and Boreal Forests during the Holocene Epoch’, Nature 371, 52–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher, R. and Appenzeller, T.: 1999, ‘Beyond Reductionism: Introduction to Special Section on Complex Systems’, Science 284, 79–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganopolski, A., Kubatzki, C., Claussen, M., Brovkin, V., and Petoukhov, V.: 1998, ‘The Influence of Vegetation-Atmosphere-Ocean Interaction on Climate during the Mid-Holocene’, Science 280, 1916–1919.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganopolski, A. and Rahmstorf, S.: 2001, ‘Rapid Changes of Glacial Climate Simulated in a Coupled Climate Model’, Nature 409, 153–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghil, M.: 1994, ‘Cryothermodyamics: The Chaotic Dynamics of Paleoclimate’, Physica D 77, 130–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gill, R. A., Polley, H.W., Johnson, L. J., Maherali, H., and Jackson, R.: 2002, ‘Nonlinear Grasslands Responses to Past and Future Atmospheric CO2’, Nature 417, 279–282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldenfeld, N. and Kadanoff, L. P.: 1999, ‘Simple Lessons from Complexity’, Science 284, 87–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • GRIP Project Members: 1993, ‘Climate Instability during the Last Interglacial Period Recorded in the GRIP Ice Core’, Nature 364, 203–207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Homes, K. J. and Ellisa, J. H.: 1999, ‘An Integrated Assessment Modeling Framework for Assessing Primary and Secondary Impacts from Carbon Dioxide Stabilization Scenarios’, Environ. Model. Assess. 4, 45–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurrell, J. W.: 1995, ‘Decadal Trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation Regional Temperatures and Precipitation’, Science 269, 676–679

    Google Scholar 

  • Imbrie, J., Berger, A., Boyle, E. A., Clemens, S. C., Duffy, A., Howard, W. R., Kukla, G., Kutzbach, J., Martinson, D. G., McIntyre, A., Mix, A. C., Molfino, B., Morley, J. J., Peterson, L. C., Pisias, N. G., Prell, W. L., Raymo, M. E., Shackleton, N. J., and Toggweiler, J. R.: 1993, ‘On the Structure and Origin of Major Glaciation Cycles 2. The 100,000-Year Cycle’, Paleoceanography 8(6), 699–735.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joussaume, S., Taylor, K. E., Braconnot, P., Mitchell, J. F. B., Kutzbach, J. E., Harrison, S. P., Prentice, I. C., Broccoli, A. J., Abe-Ouchi, A., Bartlein, P. J., Bonfiels, C., Dong, B., Guiot, J., Herterich, K., Hewit, C. D., Jolly, D., Kim, J. W., Kislov, A., Kitoh, A., Loutre, M. F., Masson, V., McAvaney, B., McFarlane, N., deNoblet, N., Peltier, W. R., P eterschmitt, J. Y., Pollard, D., Rind, D., Royer, J. F., Schlesinger, M. E., Syktus, J., Thompson, S., Valdes, P., Vettoretti, G., Webb, R. S., and Wyputta, U.: 1999, ‘Monsoon Changes for 6000 Years Ago: Results of 18 Simulations from the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project (PMIP)’, Geophys. Res. Lett. 26, 859–862.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kabat, P., Claussen, M., Dirmeyer, P. A., Gash, J. H. C., Bravo de Guenni, L., Meybeck, M., Pielke Sr., R. A., Vörösmarty, C. J., Hutjes, R. W. A., and Lütkemeier, S. (eds.): 2003, Vegetation, Water, Humans and the Climate: A New Perspective on an Interactive System, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, approx. 550 pp., in press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, D. and Glass, L.: 1995, Understanding Nonlinear Dynamics, Springer-Verlag, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Y. C. and Powers, E. J.: 1978, ‘Digital Bispectral Analysis of Self-Excited Fluctuation Spectra’, Phys. Fluids 21, 1452–1453.

    Google Scholar 

  • Körner, C.: 2000, ‘Biosphere Responses to CO2 Enrichment’, Ecol. Appl. 10, 1590–1619.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutzbach, J. E. and Guetter, P. J.: 1986, ‘The Influence of Changing Orbital Parameters and Surface Boundary Conditions on Climate Simulations for the Past 18,000 Years’, J. Atmos. Sci. 43, 1726–1759.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawton, J. H.: 2001, ‘Earth System Science’, Science 292, 1965.

  • Lamb, H. H.: 1966, ‘Climate in the 1960s’, Geogr. J. 132, 183–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz, E. N.: 1963, ‘Deterministic Nonperiodic Flow’, J. Atmos. Sci. 20, 130–141

    Google Scholar 

  • Mantua, N. J., Hare, S. R., Zhang, Y., Wallace, J. M., and Francis, R. C.: 1997, ‘A Pacific Interdecadal Climate Oscillation with Impacts on Salmon Production’, Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc. 78, 1069–1079.

    Google Scholar 

  • May, R. M.: 1976, ‘Simple Mathematical Models with Very Complicated Dynamical Behavior’, Nature 261, 459–467.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, J. J., Canziani, O. F., Leary, N. A., Dokken, D. J., and White, K. S. (eds.): 2001, Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Contribution of Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mudelsee, M. and Schultz, M.: 1997, ‘The Mid-Pleistocene Climate Transition: Onset of the 100 ka Cycle Lags Ice Volume Build-up by 280 ka’, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 151, 117–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nobes, D. C., Bloomer, S. F., Mienert, J., and Westall, F.: 1991, ‘Milankovitch Cycles and Nonlinear Response in the Quaternary Record in the Atlantic Sector of the South Oceans’, Proceedings ODP Scientific Results 114, 551–576.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paillard, D.: 2001, ‘Glacial Hiccups’, Nature 409, 147–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petit, J. R., Jouzel, J., Raynaud, D., and Barkov, N. I.: 1999, ‘Climate and Atmospheric History of the Past 420,000 Years from the Vostok Ice Core, Antarctica’, Nature 399, 429–436.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pielke Sr., R. A.: 2001a, ‘Earth System Modeling–An Integrated Assessment Tool for Environmental Studies’, in Matsuno, T. and Kida, H. (eds.), Present and Future of Modeling Global Environmental Change: Toward Integrated Modeling, Terra Scientific Publishing Company, Tokyo, Japan, pp. 311–337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pielke Sr., R. A.: 2001b, ‘Influence of the Spatial Distribution of Vegetation and Soils on the Prediction of Cumulus Convective Rainfall’, Rev. Geophys. 39, 151–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pielke Sr., R. A.: 2001c, ‘Carbon Sequestration: The Need for an Integrated Climate System Approach’, Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. 82, 2021.

  • Pielke Sr., R. A., M arland, G., Betts, R. A., Chase, T. N., Eastman, J. L., Niles, J. O., Niyogi, D., and Running, S.: 2002, ‘The Influence of Land-Use Change and Landscape Dynamics on the Climate System-Relevance to Climate Change Policy beyond the Radiative Effect of Greenhouse Gases’, Phil. Trans. A. Special Theme Issue 360, 1705–1719.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pisias, N. G., Mix, A. C., and Zahn, R.: 1990, ‘Nonlinear Response in the Global Climate System: Evidence from Benthic Oxygen Isotopic Record in Core RC13–110’, Paleoceanography 5(2), 147–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prentice, I. C., Jolly, D., and BIOME 6000 members: 2000, ‘Mid-Holocene and Glacial-Maximum Vegetation Geography of the Northern Continents and Africa’, J. Biogeogr. 27, 507–519.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prather, M. J.: 1996, ‘Natural Modes and Time Scales in Atmospheric Chemistry: Theory, GWPs for CH4 and CO, and Runaway Growth’, Geophys. Res. Lett. 23, 2597–2600.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prinn, R. G., Jacoby, H. D., Sokolov, A., Wang, C., Xiao, X., Yang, Z., Eckaus, R. S., Stone, P. H., Ellerman, A. D., Melillo, J. M., Fitzmaurice, J., Kicklighter, D. W., Holian, G. L., and Liu, Y.: 1999, ‘Integrated Global System Model for Climate Policy Assessment: Feedbacks and Sensitivity Studies’, Clim. Change 41, 469–546.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prinn, R. G., Huang, J., Weiss, R. F., Cunnold, D. M., Fraser, P. J., Simmonds, P. G., Harth, C., Salameh, P., O'Doherty, S., Wang, R. H. J., Porter, L., and Miller, B. R.: 2001, ‘Evidence for Substantial Variations of Atmospheric Hydroxyl Radicals in the Last Two Decades’, Science 292, 1882–1888.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahmstorf, S.: 2000, ‘The Thermohaline Ocean Circulation: A System with Dangerous Thresholds?’, Clim. Change 46, 247–256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahmstorf, S.: 2001, ‘Abrupt Climate Change’, in Steele, J., Thorpe, S., and Turekian, K. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, Academic Press, London, pp. 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raymo, M. E.: 1997, ‘The Timing of Major Climate Terminations’, Paleoceanography 12, 577–585.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rial, J. A.: 1999, ‘Pacemaking the Ice Ages by Frequency Modulation of Earth's Orbital Eccentricity’, Science 285, 564–568.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rial, J. A.: 2003, ‘Abrupt Climate Change: Chaos and Order at Orbital and Millennial Scales’, Glob.Plan. Change, in press.

  • Rind, D.: 1999, ‘Complexity and Climate’, Science 284, 105–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sachs, J. P. and Lehman, S.: 1999, ‘Subtropical North Atlantic Temperatures 60,000 to 30,000 Years Ago, Science 286, 756–759.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salas, J. D. and Pielke Sr., R. A.: 2002, ‘Stochastic Characteristics and Modeling of Hydroclimatic Processes’, Chapter 32 in Potter, T. and Colman, B. (eds.), Handbook of Weather, Climate, and Water, John Wiley and Sons, in press.

  • Salas, J. D., Obeysekera, J. T. B., and Boes, D. C.: 1981, in Singh, V. P. (ed.), Modeling of the Equatorial Lakes Outflows, in Statistical Analysis of Rainfall and Runoff,Water Resources Publications, Littleton, CO, pp. 431–440.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarewitz, D., Pielke Jr., R. A., and Byerly Jr., R.: 2000, Prediction, Science, Decision Making and the Future of Nature, Island Press, Washington, DC, p. 405.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarmiento, J. L., Hughes, T. M. C., Stouffer, R. J. (et al.): 1999, ‘Simulated Response of the Ocean Carbon Cycle to Anthropogenic Climate Warming’, Nature 402, 245–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schellnhuber, H. J.: 1999, ‘Earth System Analysis and the Second Copernican Revolution’, Nature 402, C19–C26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schimel, D., Melillo, J., Tian, H. Q., McGuire, A. D., Kicklighter, D., Kittel, T., Rosenblum, N., Running, S., Thorton, P., Ojima, D., Parton, W., Kelly, R., Sykes, M., Neilson, R., and Rizzo, B.: 2000, ‘Contribution of Increasing CO2 and Climate to Carbon Storage by Ecosystems in the United States’, Science 287, 2004–2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stocker, T. F. and Schmittner, A.: 1997, ‘Influence of CO2 Emission Rates on the Stability of the Thermohaline Circulation’, Science 388, 862–865.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sveinsson, O. G., Salas, J. D., Boes, D. C., and Pielke Sr., R. A.: 2003, ‘Modeling of Long Term Variability of Climatic and Hydrologic Processes’, J. Hydrometeor. 4, 489–505.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, A. M. and Cicerone, R. J.: 1986, ‘Possible Perturbations to Atmospheric CO, CH4, and OH’, J. Geophys. Res. 91, 10853–10864.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tziperman, E., Stone, L., Cane, M. A., and Jarosh, H.: 1994, ‘El Niño Chaos: Overlapping of Resonances between the Seasonal Cycle and the Pacific Ocean-Atmosphere Oscillator’, Science 264, 72–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitusenko, P. M., Mooney, H. A., Lubchenco, J., and Melillo, J. M.: 1997, ‘Human Domination of Earth's Ecosystems’, Science 277, 494–499.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vörösmarty, C. J. P., Green, P., Salisbury, J., and Lammers, R. B.: 2000, ‘Global Water Resources: Vulnerability from Climate Change Acid Population Growth’, Science 289, 284–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, A. J. and Lovelock, J. E.: 1984, ‘Biological Homeostasis of the Global Rnvironment: The Parable of Daisyworld’, Tellus 35, 284–289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Werth, D. and Avissar, R.: 2002, ‘The Local and Global Effects of Amazon Deforestation’, J.Geophys. Res. 107, D20, 8087, doi: 10.1029/2001JD000717.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao,M., Pitman, A. J., and Chase, T.: 2000, ‘The Impact of Land Cover Change on the Atmospheric Circulation’, Clim. Dyn. 17, 467–477.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wave Propagation Laboratory, Department of Geological Sciences CB#3315, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3315, U.S.A.

    José A. Rial

  2. Atmospheric Science Dept., Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, U.S.A

    Roger A. Pielke Sr.

  3. Dept. of Geosciences, Geography, Univ. of Fribourg, Pérolles, Ch-1700, Fribourg, Switzerland

    Martin Beniston

  4. Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Telegrafenberg C4, 14473 Potsdam, P.O. Box 601203, Potsdam, Germany

    Martin Claussen & Hermann Held

  5. GCP-IPO, Earth Observation Centre, CSIRO, GPO Box 3023, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia

    Josep Canadell

  6. Met Office Hadley Centre, London Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 2SY, U.K

    Peter Cox

  7. DSM/LSCE, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Unité mixte de Recherche CEA-CNRS, Bat. 709 Orme des Merisiers, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    Nathalie de Noblet-Ducoudré

  8. Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139-4307, U.S.A

    Ronald Prinn

  9. Department of Biology and Nicholas School of the Environmental and Earth Sciences, Phytotron Bldg., Science Dr., Duke University, Box 90340, Durham, NC, 27708, U.S.A

    James F. Reynolds

  10. Dept. of Civil Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, U.S.A

    José D. Salas

Authors
  1. José A. Rial
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Roger A. Pielke Sr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Martin Beniston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Martin Claussen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Josep Canadell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Peter Cox
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Hermann Held
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Nathalie de Noblet-Ducoudré
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Ronald Prinn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. James F. Reynolds
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. José D. Salas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rial, J.A., Pielke, R.A., Beniston, M. et al. Nonlinearities, Feedbacks and Critical Thresholds within the Earth's Climate System. Climatic Change 65, 11–38 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CLIM.0000037493.89489.3f

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CLIM.0000037493.89489.3f

Keywords

  • Climate System
  • Methodological Issue
  • Earth System
  • Critical Threshold
  • Nonlinear Behavior