Lithium-induced EEG changes in patients with affective disorders

In 12 patients with affective disorders (ICD-10: F31, F32, F33), EEGs were recorded before and after 4.4 months of lithium treatment. Effects of lithium on the EEG were analyzed by power spectral analysis controlled for vigilance. We found (1) an increase in relative power in both delta and theta band which was related to the lithium plasma level, (2) a decrease in relative alpha power especially at occipital leads and (3) a reduction of the dominant alpha frequency. The changes in relative power were more pronounced in the right hemisphere, which is in contrast to the hypothesis of a site-specific localization of lithium effects only in left anterior regions. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG,Basel

Detection of changes in temperature extremes during the second half of the 20th century

Since 1950, the warmest and coldest days and nights of the year have become warmer. Comparing these observations with climate model simulations in an optimal detection analysis shows a significant human influence on patterns of change in extremely warm nights. Human influence on cold nights and days is also detected, although less robustly, but there is no detection of a significant human influence on extremely warm days. In the future, extreme temperatures are expected to intensify considerably, with adverse consequences for human health

A Bayesian Climate Change Detection and Attribution Assessment

A Bayesian analysis of the evidence for human-induced climate change in global surface temperature observations is described. The analysis uses the standard optimal detection approach and explicitly incorporates prior knowledge about uncertainty and the influence of humans on the climate. This knowledge is expressed through prior distributions that are noncommittal on the climate change question. Evidence for detection and attribution is assessed probabilistically using clearly defined criteria. Detection requires that there is high likelihood that a given climate-model-simulated response to historical changes in greenhouse gas concentration and sulphate aerosol loading has been identified in observations. Attribution entails a more complex process that involves both the elimination of other plausible explanations of change and an assessment of the likelihood that the climate-model-simulated response to historical forcing changes is correct. The Bayesian formalism used in this study deals with this latter aspect of attribution in a more satisfactory way than the standard attribution consistency test. Very strong evidence is found to support the detection of an anthropogenic influence on the climate of the twentieth century. However, the evidence from the Bayesian attribution assessment is not as strong, possibly due to the limited length of the available observational record or sources of external forcing on the climate system that have not been accounted for in this study. It is estimated that strong evidence from a Bayesian attribution assessment using a relatively stringent attribution criterion may be available by 2020

Decreased monsoon precipitation in the Northern Hemisphere due to anthropogenic aerosols

The Northern Hemisphere monsoons are an integral component of Earth's hydrological cycle and affect the lives of billions of people. Observed precipitation in the monsoon regions underwent substantial changes during the second half of the 20th century, with drying from the 1950s to mid-1980s and increasing precipitation in recent decades. Modeling studies suggest anthropogenic aerosols has been a key factor driving changes in tropical and monsoon precipitation. Here we apply detection and attribution methods to determine whether observed changes are driven by human influences using fingerprints of individual forcings (i.e. greenhouse gas, anthropogenic aerosol and natural) derived from climate models. The results show that the observed changes can only be explained when including the influence of anthropogenic aerosols, even after accounting for internal climate variability. Anthropogenic aerosol, not greenhouse gas or natural forcing, has been the dominant influence on Northern Hemisphere monsoon precipitation over the second half of the 20th century

Reproduction of Twentieth Century Intradecadal to Multidecadal Surface Temperature Variability in Radiatively Forced Coupled Climate Models

[1] Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 3 simulations that included time-varying radiative forcings were ranked according to their ability to consistently reproduce twentieth century intradecadal to multidecadal (IMD) surface temperature variability at the 5° by 5° spatial scale. IMD variability was identified using the running Mann-Whitney Z method. Model rankings were given context by comparing the IMD variability in preindustrial control runs to observations and by contrasting the IMD variability among the ensemble members within each model. These experiments confirmed that the inclusion of time-varying external forcings brought simulations into closer agreement with observations. Additionally, they illustrated that the magnitude of unforced variability differed between models. This led to a supplementary metric that assessed model ability to reproduce observations while accounting for each model\u27s own degree of unforced variability. These two metrics revealed that discernable differences in skill exist between models and that none of the models reproduced observations at their theoretical optimum level. Overall, these results demonstrate a methodology for assessing coupled models relative to each other within a multimodel framework