External forcing
Climate Change 2021 – The Physical Science Basis, Annex VII: Glossary, written by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and published by Cambridge University Press in 2023, states: ‘External forcing refers to a forcing agent outside the climate system causing a change in the climate system. Volcanic eruptions, solar variations and changes in Earth’s orbit, as well as anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use are external forcings.’
AR5 Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, Glossary, published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that external forcing: ‘…refers to a forcing agent outside the climate system causing a change in the climate system. Volcanic eruptions, solar variations, and anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere and land use change are external forcings. Orbital forcing is also an external forcing as the insolation changes with orbital parameters eccentricity, tilt, and precession of the equinox.’
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