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Future global warming from atmospheric trace gases

Nature volume 319, pages 109–115 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

Human activity this century has increased the concentrations of atmospheric trace gases, which in turn has elevated global surface temperatures by blocking the escape of thermal infrared radiation. Natural climate variations are masking this temperature increase, but further additions of trace gases during the next 65 years could double or even quadruple the present effects, causing the global average temperature to rise by at least 1 °C and possibly by more than 5 °C. If the rise continues into the twenty-second century, the global average temperature may reach higher values than have occurred in the past 10 million years.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, 80307, USA

    Robert E. Dickinson & Ralph J. Cicerone

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  1. Robert E. Dickinson
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Dickinson, R., Cicerone, R. Future global warming from atmospheric trace gases. Nature 319, 109–115 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/319109a0

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