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Reflections on the IPCC and global change science: Time for a more (physical) geographical tradition
Author(s) -
Spencer Thomas,
Lane Stuart N.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the canadian geographer / le géographe canadien
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.35
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1541-0064
pISSN - 0008-3658
DOI - 10.1111/cag.12332
Subject(s) - climate change , livelihood , scale (ratio) , global change , global warming , climatology , forcing (mathematics) , geography , meaning (existential) , economic geography , environmental resource management , sea level rise , physical geography , environmental science , ecology , agriculture , epistemology , cartography , geology , philosophy , archaeology , biology
Key Messages Single factor climate change metrics, such as global mean temperature increase or global sea level rise, have little meaning for the explanation of landscape scale change. Global scale analyses struggle to incorporate landscape settings; the role of climatic variability alongside secular change; intrinsic systems feedbacks which modulate external forcing; and spatial and temporal cascades of energy and matter. The ultimate goal of global change research should be the study of the implications of climate change for human lives and livelihoods and here the geographical tradition can make a significant contribution.