  When the climate system is forced, e.g. by emission of greenhouse gases, it
responds on multiple time scales. As temperatures rise, feedback processes
might intensify or weaken. Current methods to analyze feedback strength,
however, do not take such state dependency into account; they only consider
changes in (global mean) temperature and assume all feedbacks are linearly
related to that. This makes (transient) changes in feedback strengths almost
intangible and generally leads to underestimation of future warming. Here, we
present a multivariate (and spatially explicit) framework that facilitates
dissection of climate feedbacks over time scales. Using this framework,
information on the composition of projected (transient) future climates and
feedback strengths can be obtained. Moreover, it can be used to make
projections for many emission scenarios through linear response theory. The new
framework is illustrated using the Community Earth System Model version 2
(CESM2).
