Prediciting future climates Flashcards
Describe extrapolation
Extending a line making the assumption that we have enough data to establish the trend accurately and present trends continues
What are the other factors that may affect climate change include?
Other gases
Aerosols
Degree of reflection from areas of earh that are free of ice and snow
Fraction of earth covered with ice and snow
Extend of cloud, changes in sun radiation
Why might predictions be incorrect?
Limited data and knowledge
Limited resources
Failure to include all factors
Changing trends in factors included
What increases scientific community confidence?
Evaluation by comparing outcomes with each other and with observations
How do you test models?
Taking data from years past, feeding the data and seeing if predicitions match what happened
