Scientists / Open questions

Klaus Hasselmann

Climate dynamics; stochastic climate models

2021 Nobel Prize in Physics

11 questions

Quantifying and validating specular point scattering effects on the total (Bragg plus specular) SAR image spectrum of the ocean surface
Recovering the true two-dimensional ocean surface-wave spectrum from SAR measurements: inversion of the nonlinear sea-surface-to-SAR-image mapping motivated by Hasselmann's 1980 SIFT formulation
Constraining the process sensitivities behind the −10% to +30% uncertainty in projected atmospheric CO2 by 2100: CO2 fertilization strength and soil-respiration temperature dependence
Validating weak particle-field interaction theory for cosmic-ray parallel diffusion: higher-order 90-degree scattering corrections, empirical validity conditions, and the diffusive-to-coherent transition
First-principles determination of the white-capping dissipation source function and closure of the wind-wave spectral energy balance
Refining, testing, and quantitatively operationalizing climate policy implementation scenarios for integration into climate scenario assessment
Dynamical interpretation of principal oscillation pattern diagnostics of the tropical 30-60-day oscillation
Mechanistic partitioning of the glacial–interglacial atmospheric CO2 change among ocean carbon-cycle processes (the glacial CO2 problem)
Robust Bayesian computation of the fraction of attributable risk for climate damages: hypothesis-set completeness, trend-variability interaction, sensitivity, prior handling, and extension to damage types such as hurricane losses
Completing the reduced-form climate model for the Tolerable Windows Approach: the open development issues of the ICLIPS Climate Model (ICM)
Quantitative attribution of sea-surface-temperature and seasonal-thermocline variability to stochastic atmospheric forcing versus internal oceanic processes (Frankignoul & Hasselmann, 1977)

Back to open problems

Quantifying and validating specular point scattering effects on the total (Bragg plus specular) SAR image spectrum of the ocean surface

Recovering the true two-dimensional ocean surface-wave spectrum from SAR measurements: inversion of the nonlinear sea-surface-to-SAR-image mapping motivated by Hasselmann's 1980 SIFT formulation

Constraining the process sensitivities behind the −10% to +30% uncertainty in projected atmospheric CO2 by 2100: CO2 fertilization strength and soil-respiration temperature dependence

Validating weak particle-field interaction theory for cosmic-ray parallel diffusion: higher-order 90-degree scattering corrections, empirical validity conditions, and the diffusive-to-coherent transition

First-principles determination of the white-capping dissipation source function and closure of the wind-wave spectral energy balance

Refining, testing, and quantitatively operationalizing climate policy implementation scenarios for integration into climate scenario assessment

Dynamical interpretation of principal oscillation pattern diagnostics of the tropical 30-60-day oscillation

Mechanistic partitioning of the glacial–interglacial atmospheric CO2 change among ocean carbon-cycle processes (the glacial CO2 problem)

Robust Bayesian computation of the fraction of attributable risk for climate damages: hypothesis-set completeness, trend-variability interaction, sensitivity, prior handling, and extension to damage types such as hurricane losses

Completing the reduced-form climate model for the Tolerable Windows Approach: the open development issues of the ICLIPS Climate Model (ICM)

Quantitative attribution of sea-surface-temperature and seasonal-thermocline variability to stochastic atmospheric forcing versus internal oceanic processes (Frankignoul & Hasselmann, 1977)