In: Fractal Analysis and Chaos in Geosciences, Eds.: S.-A. Ouadfeul, InTech, Rijeka, Croatia, ISBN: 978-953-51-0729-3, 1–28p. (2012) DOI:10.5772/53559
Complexity Concepts and Non-Integer Dimensions in Climate and Paleoclimate Research
R. V. DonnerThe ongoing global climate change has severe effects on the entire biosphere of the Earth. According to the most recent IPCC report [1], it is very likely that anthropogenic influences (like the increased discharge of greenhouse gases and a gradually intensifying land-use) are important driving factors of the observed changes in both the mean state and variability of the climate system. However, anthropogenic climate change competes with the natural variability on very different time-scales, ranging from decades up to millions of years, which is known from paleoclimate reconstructions. Consequently, in order to understand the crucial role of man-made influences on the climate system, an overall understanding of the recent system-internal variations is necessary.
