Planetary Dynamics

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How Feedback Loops Are Making the Climate Crisis Worse
Post on www.climaterealityproject.org, January 7, 2020 “If you want to understand how our climate will change in the coming decades, you’ve got to understand feedback loops. In plain English, feedback loops make the impacts of key climate factors stronger or weaker, starting a cyclical chain reaction that repeats again and again. For our purposes, there are two major categories of climate feedback loops: positive and negative. Negative feedback is a process that causes a decrease in function, often in an effort to stabilize the system. A positive feedback loop, however, “accelerates a response.” …

“At its most basic, the science behind why our climate is changing is pretty straightforward. When we burn fossil fuels to produce electricity, heat, and more, they emit greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. These gases trap the sun’s energy in Earth’s atmosphere as heat. As more and more GHGs are released, more heat gets trapped and the planet warms up, disrupting the long-standing, delicate climate systems that have made life on Earth possible.

“The stronger storms and longer droughts we see becoming a dangerous new normal are a direct result. But how these impacts play off each other is far more nuanced. In many cases, the wildfires or disappearing glaciers we see in the headlines have unseen knock-on effects that lead to, well, more wildfires and disappearing glaciers.

“Think of it like dominos lined up in an infinite spiral – once one domino falls, it creates a reaction that pushes over another and then another right on down the line.

“Scientists call this process a “feedback loop” – and it’s got profound consequences for the planet.:

Key Climate Feedback Loops (From Google)
– Ice-Albedo Feedback: White ice and snow reflect sunlight. As warming melts the ice, darker ocean water or land is exposed, which absorbs more heat and melts more ice. [1]
– Permafrost Thawing: Frozen northern soils trap ancient organic matter. As they thaw, microbes break down this material, releasing carbon dioxide and methane that trap more atmospheric heat
– Water Vapor Increase: Warmer air holds more water vapor. Because water vapor is a powerful greenhouse gas, this extra moisture traps additional heat, causing further evaporation
– Forest Dieback: Droughts and intense wildfires driven by heat damage large forest ecosystems, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide trees can absorb and releasing stored carbon back into the air

 

Climate Feedback Loops and Tipping Points
UCAR Center for Science Education
“Tipping points occur when a positive feedback loop crosses a threshold that leads to large changes, that often can’t be turned around or reversed. Essentially, the positive feedback loop becomes so strong, or the changes begin happening so quickly, that the impacts are like a snowball accumulating mass and rolling so quickly downhill that it can’t be stopped.”