As carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere, the Earth will get hotter. But exactly how much warming will result from a certain increase in CO2 is under study. The relationship between CO2 and warming, known as climate sensitivity, determines what future we should expect as CO2 levels continue to climb. New research led by the University of Washington analyzes the most recent ice age, when a large swath of North America was covered in ice, to better understand the relationship between CO2 and global temperature. 

Clouds play a particularly powerful role in the climate system since they can change rapidly and have a strong effect on Earth’s reflectivity. That’s why researchers are working to better understand clouds, and how both inadvertent and possibly intentional changes to atmospheric particles affect clouds.