09122010

Cancun Cloud Feedback problems

See the WUWT posting for the details. The basic gist is that the Dessier Cloud Feedback paper appears in Science supporting the positive cloud feedback position which in turn supports the climate models used by the IPCC.

The WUWT post in turn 'dismantles' this position on the basis that the analysis performed ignores advances in identifying cloud feedback which indicate that the paper has got cause and effect rather mixed up, hence leading to an analysis indicative of a strongly negative feedback in effect.

This is key, as without the positive cloud feedback you won't get 'run away' increases in temperature due to increases in Co2 - essentially undermining the whole global warming position.

Also what is interesting is that the GISS have at the same time a new paper out (see WUWT response) discussing how Co2 is a principal control knob governing Earth's temperature. The post on WUWT again dismantles their model results on the basis of bad deductive logical reasoning. Again the timing of this paper is somewhat 'suspicious' with respect to Cancun..  In the WUWT post there is also a nice list of exactly how deficient the GISS ModelE climate model is; ouch!