To what extent can interannual CO2 variability constrain carbon cycle sensitivity to climate change in CMIP5 Earth System Models?

Abstract We analyze the carbon‐climate feedback in eight Earth System Models from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). We focus on tropical land carbon change and find decreases (−31.02 to −169.32 GtC K−1) indicating tropical ecosystems will release carbon as temperature warms, thus contributing to a positive feedback identified in earlier studies. We further investigate t…