Isaac Held: 'Climate science is a mix of complexity and simplicity'

In this conversation with Isaac Held we talk about the foundations of climatology: how certain is our knowledge of the climate of the Earth and how well we know the dynamics of the several systems involved. We speak about the role of CO2 in global warming and the impact of human activity on the levels of CO2; we also comment on the role of the ocean, an important sink of CO2 and heat whose dynamics is still poorly understood, and on clouds, which play an important role by reflecting part of the solar radiation back into space. The climate of the Earth results from the interplay between all these factors, and the lack of understanding of one of them impacts our understanding of the global system. Still, there are many details that are well-established scientific facts. You can also follow Isaac Held's blog at the GFDL website here: http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/blog/isaac-held/ This interview was carried out with the support of the BBVA Foundation. Professor Held visited Madrid as a Frontiers of Knowledge Laureate in Climate Science by the BBVA Foundation. We are grateful to them for arranging this conversation with Professor Held. The conversation took place on June 19th, 2012.

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