I show that the latest series of climate models reproduce the
observed mid-depth Southern Ocean warming since the 1950s if they include
time-varying changes in anthropogenic greenhouse gases, sulphate aerosols
and volcanic aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere.
The remarkable agreement between observations and state-of-the art climate
models suggests significant human influence on Southern Ocean temperatures.
I also show that climate models that do not
include volcanic aerosols produce mid-depth Southern
Ocean warming that is nearly double that produced by
climate models that do include volcanic aerosols.
This implies that the full effect of human-induced warming of the
Southern Ocean may yet to be realized.

Full Article: http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2006.../2006GL027247.shtml

Last Updated: 2007-02-27