2018, Lade, Steven J., Donges, Jonathan F., Fetzer, Ingo, Anderies, John M., Beer, Christian, Cornell, Sarah E., Gasser, Thomas, Norberg, Jon, Richardson, Katherine, Rockström, Johan, Steffen, Will

Changes to climate–carbon cycle feedbacks may significantly affect the Earth system's response to greenhouse gas emissions. These feedbacks are usually analysed from numerical output of complex and arguably opaque Earth system models. Here, we construct a stylised global climate–carbon cycle model, test its output against comprehensive Earth system models, and investigate the strengths of its climate–carbon cycle feedbacks analytically. The analytical expressions we obtain aid understanding of carbon cycle feedbacks and the operation of the carbon cycle. Specific results include that different feedback formalisms measure fundamentally the same climate–carbon cycle processes; temperature dependence of the solubility pump, biological pump, and CO2 solubility all contribute approximately equally to the ocean climate–carbon feedback; and concentration–carbon feedbacks may be more sensitive to future climate change than climate–carbon feedbacks. Simple models such as that developed here also provide "workbenches" for simple but mechanistically based explorations of Earth system processes, such as interactions and feedbacks between the planetary boundaries, that are currently too uncertain to be included in comprehensive Earth system models.

2018, Szkudlarek, Marian, Beginn, Uwe, Keul, Helmut, Möller, Martin

The solubility of terpolymers containing alkyl, and perfluoroalkyl side chains as well as succinic acid moieties in the main chain, P[RFMA0.2-co-RHMA0.65-co-MAH0.15] (RH = C4H9- or C12H25-, RF- = C10H4F19-) with ca. 20 mol % fluorinated side chains and 10–22 mol % of succinic anhydride rings was tested in a number of solvents varying from water to non polar mineral oils. The polymers are well soluble in fluorinated solvents like Freon-113® and 1,3-bis(trifluoromethyl) benzene, in semi-polar solvents like chloroform, THF or lower esters and also in hydrocarbons with polymers containing dodecyl methacrylate. In self-emulsification experiments, a stable water emulsion of P[F8H2MA0.2-co-BMA0.65-co-MAH0.15] was obtained. The dispersability and emulsification of these polymers in mixtures of organic solvents and water yielded stable emulsions in the presence of additional surfactant. Thin films coated from organic solutions as well as from emulsions on glass resulted in water and oil-repelling surfaces with contact angles up to 140° against water and 71° against hexadecane. An enhancing effect of annealing was not observed.