296
6 Conclusions
Energy balance climate models with ice-cap feedback exhibit multiple solutions. The solutions can be studied with the aid of a potential function which has minima corresponding
to the stable steady state solutions. In the presence of noise the shallow minima are rarely
occupied by the stochastic system trajectory. This phenomenon is demonstrated by using
a GeM in which fluctuations occur naturally.
Acknowledgement. We thank the organizers and NATO for the opportunity to present
this work. The work done in this and the other lectures at the conference were sponsored
in part by a grant from the US Department of Energy under the National Institute for
Global Environmental Change.
6 Conclusions
Energy balance climate models with ice-cap feedback exhibit multiple solutions. The solutions can be studied with the aid of a potential function which has minima corresponding
to the stable steady state solutions. In the presence of noise the shallow minima are rarely
occupied by the stochastic system trajectory. This phenomenon is demonstrated by using
a GeM in which fluctuations occur naturally.
Acknowledgement. We thank the organizers and NATO for the opportunity to present
this work. The work done in this and the other lectures at the conference were sponsored
in part by a grant from the US Department of Energy under the National Institute for
Global Environmental Change.