Atmospheric feedbacks and the Victorian bushfires

Aerosols in smoke from the Victorian bush fires news story here

If we are going to see more of these extreme fire events , and can therefore expect to see greater quantities of emissions( smoke particles, sulphur, water vapour etc) pushed into higher levels of the atmosphere where they will reside and interact for some time, to what extent are the GCM's able to incorporate this into their modelling?

What will be the net effect? Cooling or warming?

Is the effect equivalent to or different from that of a volcanic eruption?

Where to begin

I am just heading out on a new learning adventure, looking at climate change and all the issues surrounding adaptation.

My interests at the moment lie in the areas of disaster management, extreme weather events, bushfires, coastal zone impacts, sea level rise, heat waves, innundation, flooding, cyclones, storms and community displacement. In particular I am interested in those aspects which have some implication for levels of vulnerability. This includes environmental ( in the widest sense of the term), economic, socio-political, and cultural aspects of sensitivity and vulnerability. I am interested in the science of climate change, the implications for policy and policy makers, the implications for planning and infrastruture, the implications for communities and the environments upon which they depend for ecosystem services.

I am keen to find links to research, grey literature, reports and of course peer reviewed work.

My aim in this blog is discuss adaptation issues, share knowledge, review resources and hopefully widen the community of interest in the topic. Even if mitigation efforts are successful in reducing global emissions, residual levels are high enough now to mean that climate change is going to continue to impact for the foreseeable future. An equal emphasis needs to fall on adaptation as is being placed on emissions reduction.