Climatology

["Charles Brown" <CharlesB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.newscientist.com/dailynews/news.jsp?id=ns9999153
Growth factor
The first climate model to incorporate realistic plant life produces dismal
predictions


A new climate model that incorporates realistic plant life suggests much
faster global warming than previously predicted.

Peter Cox and his colleagues at the Hadley Centre in Berkshire, England,
http://www.meto.govt.uk/sec5/sec5pg1.html
have created the first model that takes into account interactions between
plant growth and other environmental factors, such as temperature and carbon
dioxide levels.

The results are dismal. By 2050, Cox predicts that the biosphere will make a
quick switch from sucking up a small amount of carbon dioxide to belching
out a lot.

Land temperatures could rise significantly - by 6 °C instead of the 4 °C
predicted by models that don't allow for changing patterns of vegetation.

"The severity of this surprised us," says Cox. "We didn't anticipate the
biosphere would be this important."

Using 'coupled' models is vital, says Ian Woodward, a vegetation modeller
from the University of Sheffield, England: "What we've got now is the best
way forward."