Assessing the climatic effect of carbon dioxide and other trace gases using an interactive two-dimensional climate-chemistry model. Final report, December 1992--August 1996

In the recent IPCC report, the role of tropospheric aerosols, stratospheric aerosols, and natural solar variability have also been identified as having sizable effects on climate, both by direct perturbation of the radiative balance and indirectly by changing ozone. Although the effect of changing CO{sub 2} is by far the dominant factor on a century time scale, the effects from the other identified factors are important on a decade time scale. It is important to understand the mechanisms that relate these changes to climatic responses. Developing appropriate numerical models with the capability to simulate these mechanisms will enable one to correctly interpret the observed climate changes that have occurred to data, as well as predict future changes in climate. It is presently impractical to run comprehensive 3-D general circulation model simulations of the interactions between atmospheric chemistry and the rest of the climate system on time scales of decades to centuries. Thus, 2-D models and other lower resolution models play an essential role in understanding the complex interactions of the integrated climate system