Figure 7.6: Idealised feedback
loops involving sea ice. The signs attached to the arrows indicate the correlation
between changes in the quantity of the outgoing box with that of the ingoing box,
e.g., more sea ice leads to larger albedo. Resulting correlations of a loop are
circled and they indicate whether a process is self-reinforced (positive sign)
or damped (negative sign). Generally, resulting negative correlations can lead
to oscillations, whereas resulting positive correlations may lead to instabilities.
The classical ice-albedo effect is shown in the left loop, a feedback involving
the overlying atmosphere is on the right.
