Week in review – science edition

by Judith Curry
A few things that caught my eye this past week.

Tim Palmer and Bjorn Stevens: The challenge of understanding and estimating climate change [link]
A new paper indicates “present” temperatures are the coldest of the last 4 to 7 thousand years in Fennoscandia (Finland). A 2016 paper indicates this region hasn’t warmed (net) since the 1930s. [link]
Efficacy of climate forcings in PDRMIP models. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2019JD030581
A study suggests that the first burst of oxygen on Earth was added by a spate of volcanic eruptions brought about by tectonics.The study offers a new theory to help explain the Great Oxidation Event about 2.5 billion years ago. https://go.nature.com/2LiQxlL
New study in GRL observes that during the intraseasonal oscillation in the Indian Ocean, “while the sea surface cools, the reservoir of warm water in the upper Indian Ocean actually increases.” https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084974
Carbon Brief: CMIP6: the next generation of climate models explained [link]
Temperature trends, and explanation for them, in central Loess Plateau of China. Interactive Effects of Climatic Factors on Seasonal Vegetation Dynamics in the Central Loess Plateau, China [link]
World’s oldest ice core reveals a history of Earth’s greenhouse gas levels. [link]
analysis of the annual frequency of combined precipitation-wind impact categories reveals no significant increasing or decreasing trend in impact over China over the past 30 years. [link]
Flow dependent stochastic coupling of climate models https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/qj.3674
Sea Caves Hold Clues to Ancient Storms [link]
“The onset of neoglaciation in Iceland and the 4.2 ka event” https://clim-past.net/15/25/2019/ has very non-Hockey Stick perspective on last 9000 years. Data from both ocean and land proxies on or near Iceland show decline throughout Holocene, small 20th recovery
New Study: 6500 Years Ago The Western Barents Sea Was Ice-Free And 10°C Warmer Than 2015 https://notrickszone.com/2019/11/25/new-study-6500-years-ago-the-western-barents-sea-was-ice-free-and-10c-warmer-than-2015/
ENSO modulation of MJO teleconnections to the North Atlantic and Europe [link]
“Forcings, feedbacks and climate sensitivity in HadGEM3‐GC3.1 and UKESM1”. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2019MS001866…
Why 536 was the worst year to be alive [link]
During the Mid-Holocene (265 ppm CO2) this Arctic region was sea ice-free. SSTs rose/fell by multiple °C/century and peaked at 13°C (~9°C warmer than today). https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027737911930109X
Policy and technologies
Gail Tverberg: Do the world’s energy policies make sense? [link]
After climate despair: The dream of global conversion to austerity has failed to stop climate change. Energy abundance is our best hope for living well [link]
Lomborg: We are throwing money at the wrong solutions to climate change [link]
Pielke Jr: CO2 emissions are on the brink of a long plateau [link]
Why climate alarmism hurts us all [link]
As water sources dry up, Arizona farmers feel the heat of climate change [link]
New generation of hydroelectric dams threaten Europe’s rivers [link]
Everyone needs to shut the hell up about plastic pollution. “AT Kearney asked 1,500 Germans what had the strongest impact on reducing CO2 footprint. Of the 7 choices listed, 22% thought cutting out plastic bags had the biggest impact, more than any other option” [link]
Michael Shellenberger: Apocalypse Cancelled? [link]
Stop the ethanol madness [link]
Samoa climate change resilience challenges Western perceptions https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/11/24/samoa-climate-change-resilience-challenges-western-perceptions/
The powerlessness of Nigeria’s tech startups [link]
About science and scientists
Yin-yang thinking – a solution to dealing with unknown unknowns [link]
Is there a truth crisis? [link]
Citation counting is killing academic dissent [link]

Source