Summarizes knowledge on the current effects of clouds on climate and hypotheses on perturbations to the radiative effects of clouds involving climate change. Discusses the relative certainty on the current radiative effects of clouds (net cooling) and the great uncertainty regarding feedbacks between climate change and cloudiness changes. Also examines feedbacks related to clouds in GCMS. Fairly technical introduction [from Handel and Risbey (1992)].

Reviews perturbations to the carbon cycle, both natural and anthropogenic. Critically examines conflicts in the literature. Emphasizes time scales of a century or less. Primarily concerned with estimating how anthropogenic sources of CO2 will change atmospheric concentrations [from Handel and Risbey (1992)].

Reviews and evaluates assumptions and models used to estimate the global carbon budget in the preceding 20 years. Concludes that regrowth of cleared forests and thickening of existing forests are major sinks of atmospheric CO2 [from Handel and Risbey (1992)].

A broad, yet concise, review of atmospheric methane measurements, chemistry, isotope fractionation, sources and sinks. Discusses uncertainties in the methane budget. Probably the best single review source and it contains an extensive reference list [from Handel and Risbey (1992)].

Outlines a wide range of processes and interactions related to the sensitivity of climate or climate variables to changes in external conditions or model formulations. Describes climate sensitivity in relation to global energy balance and climate feedbacks. Discusses paleoclimates and implications for climate sensitivity, and relationships between land surface processes and regional climate sensitivity. Also considers criteria for determining statistical significance in analysis of potential climate changes in GCM simulations.

Identifies several primary uncertainties with regard to the response of the climate system to forcing by increased concentration of greenhouse gases. Specifically, these are the transient adjustment controlled by ocean heat uptake, the cover of snow and ice in high latitudes, the change in cloud radiative properties, and shifts in regional patterns connected to the ocean and land surfaces and to the internal dynamics of the atmosphere [from Handel and Risbey (1992)].

Reviews the history of the development of the climate and water literature, methods of analysis, including use of GCMs, paleoclimate analogues, recent climate analogues, and hypothetical climate scenarios, studies in combining climate scenarios with regional hydrological models, and discussion on water resources and management issues. From Handel and Risbey (1992).

Diapycnal fluxes of momentum and heat produced by three- dimensional turbulence play important, but poorly understood, roles in the dynamics of the main thermocline and of the equatorial undercurrent. Diverse approaches -- involving inferences, measurements, and process studies -- are being pursued to define these fluxes and their significance. These are reviewed to improve the coordination of future mixing studies.

Comprehensive analysis of climate sensitivity and feedback processes. The GISS GCM is used to examine the present climate, a doubled CO2 climate, and the climate of 18,000 years ago. A 1-D radiative-convective model is also used to evaluate the effect of changes in radiative forcing that takes place in the 3-D experiments. Suggests that the principal feedback effects over decades are water vapor, clouds, and surface albedo.

Reviews the problems of observing the climate and current capabilities in this regard. The climate elements addressed include space- and land-based observations of temperature, liquid and frozen precipitation, snow cover and sea ice, and vegetation. For each climate variable, consideration is given to the accuracy and precision of relevant instruments and procedures, representativeness, spatial and temporal variability, data reduction and quality control, and accessibility of the data.

Data from about 144,000 hydrographic stations in the North Atlantic have been retrieved from the national Ocean Data Centre and analysed to produce maps of mean pressure, temperature, salinity and oxygen on selected potential density surfaces for the domain bounded by 0 to 85 deg. W and 0 to 65 deg. N.

Reviews the physics of the greenhouse effect, reasons for the importance of different trace gases, expected changes in concentration of greenhouse gases, potential climate effects, climatic response, and prospects for detecting greenhouse change. Good introduction for a general scientific audience [From Handel and Risbey (1992)].

Reviews energy balance climate models (mostly 1-D with latitudinal variation) and discusses their role in aiding understanding of climate sensitivity and feedbacks [from Handel and Risbey (1992)].

A comprehensive and useful reference with attention paid to the roles of radiative physics, dynamics and chemistry. Discusses direct radiative effects of trace gases on climate and the indirect climate effects of various chemical and dynamical interactions. Outlines factors that influence the long-term trends of tropospheric and stratospheric ozone and methane, and stratospheric H2O, among other important gases [From Handel and Risbey (1992)].

Reviews radiative-convective models (1-D vertical), which have been used extensively (before the advent of GCMs) to study greenhouse changes.

Reviews the many processes whereby temperature changes lead to sea level changes, including thermal expansion of sea water, glacial melting, increased snowfall on glaciers, changes in surface water, etc. Discusses the global water balance and also possible catastrophic sea level changes. From Handel and Risbey (1992).

Review of early 3-D GCM results from groups at NCAR, GFDL and GISS. Presents doubled CO2 minus single CO2 model differences from each group for temperature, precipitation, soil moisture and cloud cover. Discusses the development of the experiments as well as the results [from Handel and Risbey (1992)].

Reviews work studying the soil based and biological processes unique to the tropics that effect several greenhouse trace gases. Includes quantitative estimates of the relative importance of the tropics with respect to the rest of the world for many trace gas fluxes. Contains an extensive reference list. [From Handel and Risbey (1992)].

Provides a detailed review of global carbon reservoirs and fluxes on a wide range of time scales and an excellent listing of many different estimates of the processes and reservoirs from different authors. Concludes with a detailed box model of the carbon cycle [from Handel and Risbey (1992)].

The relevance of group velocity to the behavior of finite difference models of time-dependent partial differential equations is surveyed and illustrated. Applications involve the propagation of wave packets in one and two dimensions, numerical dispersion, the behavior of parasitic waves, and the stability analysis of initial boundary value problems.