Articles | Volume 20, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2373-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2373-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Can machine-learning algorithms improve upon classical palaeoenvironmental reconstruction models?
Peng Sun
Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, 2333 CC Leiden, the Netherlands
Philip B. Holden
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
H. John B. Birks
Department of Biological Sciences and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, 5020 Bergen, Norway
Environmental Change Research Centre, University College London, London, WC1 6BT, UK
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Rémy Asselot, Philip B. Holden, Frank Lunkeit, and Inga Hense
Earth Syst. Dynam., 15, 875–891, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-875-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-875-2024, 2024
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Phytoplankton are tiny oceanic algae able to absorb the light penetrating the ocean. The light absorbed by these organisms is re-emitted as heat in the surrounding environment, a process commonly called phytoplankton light absorption (PLA). As a consequence, PLA increases the oceanic temperature. We studied this mechanism with a climate model under different climate scenarios. We show that phytoplankton light absorption is reduced under strong warming scenarios, limiting oceanic warming.
Negar Vakilifard, Richard G. Williams, Philip B. Holden, Katherine Turner, Neil R. Edwards, and David J. Beerling
Biogeosciences, 19, 4249–4265, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4249-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4249-2022, 2022
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To remain within the Paris climate agreement, there is an increasing need to develop and implement carbon capture and sequestration techniques. The global climate benefits of implementing negative emission technologies over the next century are assessed using an Earth system model covering a wide range of plausible climate states. In some model realisations, there is continued warming after emissions cease. This continued warming is avoided if negative emissions are incorporated.
Rémy Asselot, Frank Lunkeit, Philip B. Holden, and Inga Hense
Biogeosciences, 19, 223–239, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-223-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-223-2022, 2022
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Previous studies show that phytoplankton light absorption can warm the atmosphere, but how this warming occurs is still unknown. We compare the importance of air–sea heat versus CO2 flux in the phytoplankton-induced atmospheric warming and determine the main driver. To shed light on this research question, we conduct simulations with a climate model of intermediate complexity. We show that phytoplankton mainly warms the atmosphere by increasing the air–sea CO2 flux.
Rémy Asselot, Frank Lunkeit, Philip Holden, and Inga Hense
Earth Syst. Dynam. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-2021-91, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-2021-91, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Phytoplankton absorbing light can influence the climate system but its future effect on the climate is still unclear. We use a climate model to investigate the role of phytoplankton light absorption under global warming. We find out that the effect of phytoplankton light absorption is smaller under a high greenhouse gas emissions compared to reduced and intermediate greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, we show that phytoplankton light absorption is an important mechanism for the carbon cycle.
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Short summary
We develop the Multi Ensemble Machine Learning Model (MEMLM) for reconstructing palaeoenvironments from microfossil assemblages. The machine-learning approaches, which include random tree and natural language processing techniques, substantially outperform classical approaches under cross-validation, but they can fail when applied to reconstruct past environments. Statistical significance testing is found sufficient to identify these unreliable reconstructions.
We develop the Multi Ensemble Machine Learning Model (MEMLM) for reconstructing...