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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 5, NUMBER 12, DECEMBER 1992

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
GENERAL INTEREST--SCIENCE: GENERAL

Item #d92dec11

"Some Results from an Intercomparison of the Climates Simulated by 14 Atmospheric General Circulation Models," G.J. Boer (Numerical Modeling Div., Can. Clim. Ctr., 4905 Dufferin St., Downsview ON M3H 5T4, Can.), K. Arpe et al., J. Geophys. Res., 97(D12), 12,771-12,786, Aug. 20, 1992.

Compares cross sections of temperature, zonal wind, and meridional stream function, as well as latitudinal distributions of mean sea level pressure and precipitation rate. Investigates deficiencies that are common to all models and those that differ among models, effects of increased resolution, and approaches to understanding and reducing model deficiencies.

Item #d92dec12

"GPS Meteorology: Remote Sensing of Atmospheric Water Vapor Using the Global Positioning System," M. Bevis (Dept. Marine Sci., North Carolina St. Univ., Raleigh NC 27695), S. Businger et al., ibid., 97(D14), 15,787-15,801, Oct. 20, 1992.

GPS networks offer the possibility of observing the horizontal distribution of precipitable water vapor with unprecedented coverage and a temporal resolution on the order of 10 minutes, using the methods devised for estimating the extent to which signals propagating from GPS satellites to ground stations have been delayed by water vapor. Specially designed station networks could provide the local vertical profile of vapor as well.

Item #d92dec13

Three items on Milankovitch theory (see Research News, this GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE DIGEST issue--Dec. 1992) :

"Upset for Milankovitch Theory," W.S. Broecker (Lamont-Doherty Geol. Observ., Palisades NY 10964), Nature, 359(6398), 779-780, Oct. 29, 1992. Discusses implications of the following two articles, published in Science, which call into question the validity of the Milankovitch (astronomical) theory of ice ages.

"Continuous 500,000-Year Climate Record from Vein Calcite in Devils Hole, Nevada," I.J. Winograd (Nat. Ctr., MS-432, USGS, Reston VA 22092), T.B. Coplen et al., Science, 258(5080), 255-260, Oct. 9, 1992.

"Mass-Spectrophotometric 230Th-234U-238U Dating of the Devils Hole Calcite Vein," K.R. Ludwig (Fed. Ctr., MS-963, USGS, Denver CO 80225), K.R. Simmons et al., ibid., 284-287.

Item #d92dec14

"Effects of Boreal Forest Vegetation on Global Climate," G.R. Bonan (NCAR, POB 3000, Boulder CO 80307), D. Pollard, S.L. Thompson, Nature, 359(6397), 716-718, Oct. 22, 1992.

Results from a global climate model show that the boreal forest warms air temperatures in both winter and summer, relative to simulations in which it is replaced with bare ground or tundra vegetation. Future redistributions of boreal forest and tundra (from extensive logging or global warming, for instance) could initiate important climate feedbacks, which could extend to lower latitudes.

Item #d92dec15

"Tropical Forests and Trace Gases--Potential Interactions between Tropical Biology and the Atmospheric Sciences," P.M. Vitousek (Dept. Biol., Stanford Univ., Stanford CA 94305), P.A. Matson, Biotropica, 24(2), Part B, Special Issue, 233-239, June 1992.

Shows how knowledge of the functioning of tropical ecosystems can contribute to building a global source budget for the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, and how accumulating atmospheric measurements suggest that increased levels of tropospheric ozone are a significant threat to tropical ecosystems, even in remote areas.

Item #d92dec16

"Techniques for Sensitivity Analysis of Simulation Models: A Case Study of the CO₂ Greenhouse Effect," J.P.C. Kleijnen (Katholieke (Tilburg) Univ. Brabant, 500 LE Tilburg, Neth.), G. van Ham, J. Rotmans, Simulations, 58(6), 410-417, June 1992.

To illustrate their application to simulation models in several disciplines, simple techniques including least squares curve fitting, regression analysis and statistical designs are applied to the carbon-cycle and other modules of a large integrated assessment model, developed in the Netherlands, for the greenhouse effect. Some estimated effects are surprising.

Item #d92dec17

"Global and Hemispheric Changes in Tropospheric Chemistry," E. Sanhueza (Abt. Luftchem., M. Planck Inst. Chem., Saarstr. 23, Postfach 3060, D-6500 Mainz, Ger.), Intercienca, 17(4), 208-217, July-Aug. 1992.

Examines changes in the tropospheric concentrations of long-lived and short-lived compounds involved with greenhouse warming, acid rain and changes in the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere, emphasizing the differences between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. A decrease in oxidizing capacity (tropospheric ozone) is occurring in the Southern Hemisphere, together with an increase in the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in an overall decrease in the reactivity of the atmosphere, which contributes to the buildup of trace gases affecting global climate and stratospheric ozone.

Item #d92dec18

New publication: The Atmosphere-Ocean System, Ed. in Chief K. Katsaros (Dept. Atmos. Sci., Univ. Washington, AK-40, Seattle WA 98195). A re-orientation of Ocean-Air Interactions, with expanded aims and scope to reflect work on the interlinked processes governing present and future climate. First issue due March 1993 from Gordon & Breach Science Publishers.