An analytic model for climate and climate change suitable for advanced physics education

Abstract A simple analytic model for climate and climate change suitable for physics education in upper secondary and tertiary education is presented. It falls into the class of zero-dimensional energy balance models, comprises five independent variables and uses mathematical techniques only at a moderate level. It allows for the definition and discussion of key concepts of climate science such as radiative forcing, climate sensitivity and feedback factors, including an elementary feedback analysis for the four most important fast climate feedbacks. To round off the text, it is briefly shown how the model can be coupled to the ocean as a heat reservoir, providing a rough estimate for the characteristic time scales of climate change. The analysis is formulated rigorously in terms of the model variables.