Stefaan Conradie edited sectionIntroduction_.tex  almost 8 years ago

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\section{Introduction}  Many definitions have been proposed for climate in the literature \citep[e.g.,][]{Lorenz1997,Werndl2015,Lovejoy2013,IPCC5.1,WMONo100}. \citep[e.g.,][]{Lorenz1997,Werndl2015,Lovejoy2013,IPCC5.1,WMOno100}.  For many of the central concepts in climate science, there do not appear to be any widely accepted definitions . One might argue that definitions used are broadly similar, that there appears to be consensus on the intuitive idea of climate and that the descriptions used are generally ``good enough'' for the specific contexts in which they are applied. However, notes that ``certain questions regarding climate may be answered either affirmatively or negatively, according to the precise [definition of climate used]''. Furthermore, suggests that in different contexts---across which the nature of the available data varies---the definition that would lead to the most meaningful characterisation of a given climatic state, may differ. In particular, definitions of climate which are applicable in observational studies, are not necessarily the most useful in theoretical or modelling studies. Of particular interest in this work are various climate quantifications---definitions which, when applied, provide a quantitative characterisation of a ``model climate'' (also referred to as a ``model climatic state''). In the observational context, one must consider quantifications applicable to individual climate variable trajectories sampled over time; however, in ensemble modelling studies collections of such trajectories can either be sampled at a particular ``instant'' or over a period of time. In this work, ensembles considered are initial condition (IC) ensembles, but definitions involving perturbed physics and multi-model ensemble output could also be proposed; in particular, it could be argued that the apply a multi-model ensemble definition in quantifying projected future climates.