The climate machine 08-02-2019 KRINNER Gerhard This general introduction presents some basic concepts that will allow the reader to gain an overview of the climate machine, i.e. how the climate system…
Climate models 16-07-2020 VOLDOIRE Aurore, SAINT-MARTIN David What are climate models? On what basis are they built? How are they evaluated? Are they reliable? How is the climate of the future explored?…
The average temperature of the earth 29-07-2020 PLANTON Serge Global climate change is a major concern. It is based on the scientific community’s statement that human activities are the cause of a present and…
On the contributions to climate physics of Klaus Hasselmann and Syukuro Manabe, Nobel Prize 2021 06-12-2021 KRINNER Gerhard, RAYNAUD Dominique Three laureates share the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics: Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann for “laying the foundations of our knowledge of the Earth’s climate…
Greenhouse effect 24-05-2024 FOUQUART Yves Explaining the greenhouse effect too often boils down to the atmosphere’s ability to absorb infrared radiation emitted by the surface. This presentation is overly simplistic…
Variability of solar activity and climate impacts over the last centuries 28-02-2019 DELAYGUE Gilles The primary energy source for the Earth’s surface is the solar energy flux. While the flux received at the Earth’s surface at a given location…
Climate variability: the example of the North Atlantic Oscillation 08-02-2019 DELAYGUE Gilles Will there be snow this winter? Should we go on holiday in Brittany or on the French Riviera? Will the harvest be good this year?…
Mountain glaciers, sentinels of climate change 08-02-2019 SIX Delphine, VINCENT Christian As true icons of mountain regions, glaciers are major tools for detecting climate change. However, the interactions between glaciers and climate are complex, sometimes indirect…
Weather Extremes and Climate Change 15-01-2021 CATTIAUX Julien, CHAUVIN Fabrice, DOUVILLE Hervé, RIBES Aurélien How do extreme weather events change with climate change? Are they becoming more frequent? More intense? Is it man’s responsibility? This article presents the state of…
Glaciers in the high mountains of Asia in the face of climate change 13-05-2024 MENEGOZ Martin, BRUN Fanny, WAGNON Patrick With an average altitude of more than 4000 m, the Tibetan Plateau is the highest and also the largest in the world, with an area…
Astronomical theories of climate: a long history 26-07-2024 BERGER André, YIN Qiuzhen What have been the characteristic periods of climatic variations over the last few million years? Those responsible for these natural variations are the parameters of…
Climate variations in the last millennium 16-08-2019 GOOSSE Hugues, KLEIN François To understand the mechanisms that govern the dynamics of the current climate and predict its future evolution, it is important to differentiate between anthropogenic and…
Articles in preparation 25-03-2019 MOREAU René The articles in this sub-section are under preparation. The Encyclopedia of the Environment team thanks you for your patience.
Climate change and ancient civilizations 06-01-2020 MALAIZE Bruno The history of the rise and fall of great past civilizations has often been closely linked to changing climatic conditions. This link is justified by…
From the discovery of the greenhouse effect to the IPCC 19-05-2020 RAYNAUD Dominique When and how the principle of greenhouse effect appeared? When and how a Swedish scientist found that the mean temperature of the Earth was sensitive…
Thinking about climate change (16th-21st centuries) 20-08-2019 FAVIER René The issue of climate change is now feeding into public debate. Every week, there is not an event that is not, rightly or wrongly, brought…
