USE OF CLIMATE MODELS.
Climate models serve several purposes. A few are
addressed here (see Petersen 2012: Ch.5) and one
of their important uses is to characterize features of
climate systems that make available observational
learning difficult. For example, internal changes in
the climate system are often extrapolated from
fluctuations seen in long GCM/ESM simulations
where external conditions remain constant at pre-
industrial levels (Bindoff et al. 2013). The
instrumental record is relatively short, and it is
difficult to estimate the instrument-induced
fluctuations because it reflects not only natural
internal processes but also the influence of changes
in external conditions such as rise in greenhouse gas
concentrations. The following estimates of internal
variability play an important role in studies
attempting to detect observed climate change (see
Section 5.1). The
climate model is used by scientists to seek
explanation and understanding. In general, the
Climate models serve several purposes. A few are
addressed here (see Petersen 2012: Ch.5) and one
of their important uses is to characterize features of
climate systems that make available observational
learning difficult. For example, internal changes in
the climate system are often extrapolated from
fluctuations seen in long GCM/ESM simulations
where external conditions remain constant at pre-
industrial levels (Bindoff et al. 2013). The
instrumental record is relatively short, and it is
difficult to estimate the instrument-induced
fluctuations because it reflects not only natural
internal processes but also the influence of changes
in external conditions such as rise in greenhouse gas
concentrations. The following estimates of internal
variability play an important role in studies
attempting to detect observed climate change (see
Section 5.1). The
climate model is used by scientists to seek
explanation and understanding. In general, the
