With Reference to: “Mitchell, 1968” and “F. Kenneth Hare 1971”, John E. Oliver; “Climate and Man’s Environment, An introduction to Applied Climatology”, 1973, p. 394, the following is stated:

….on the view that explaining climatic variation must rest on an ‘adequate theory of existing climate’. Until we can argue backwards and forwards in time from such a secure foundation we shall continue to be the blind led by the blind.

Edward S. Sarachik, 1992, “Climate Prediction and the Ocean, Modeling Future Conditions, Oceanus, Vol. 35, No. 2, Summer 1992, p. 66-73 ( 67)

Until now, no social or economic imperative has required ocean prediction, and therefore no social or economic imperative has driven the establishment of an operational ocean observing system. The Factor that may change all of this is the advent of climate prediction, that is, the prediction of average weather conditions at a given place.

R.C. Sutcliffe, 1963, Theories of Recent changes of Climate”; in: Changes of Climate, Rome Symposium –UNESCO & WMO; UNESCO 1963, p. 277-280 (277, 279)

In the past the climatologist has been rather scorned by his colleagues in meteorology as a collector of tabulated data and a dabbler in statistics but this phase is happily passing into history and all the best meteorologists are now becoming climatologists.

There is nothing more obvious than that meteorology and oceanography are inextricably mixed in any study of climate change and the advance of physical oceanography is absolutely essential to us.

J.D. Woods, 1984, “The upper ocean and air-sea interaction in the global climate”, in: John T. Houghton (ed.), The Global Climate, 1984, p.141-187 (141, 152, 179)

The central role of the ocean in the climate is acknowledged in every book on the subject, but the justification varies considerably depending on the author’s viewpoint.

The ocean is the central element of the climate system in any discussion of the interannual variation.

If an air-sea interaction is the Achilles heel of climate, then the upper ocean is the Achilles of climate prediction.

Eric B. Kraus, 1987, ‘Oceans, Climate of’, in: Rhodes W. Fairbridge (ed.), The Encyclopaedia of Climatology (Earth Science), 1987, p.638-642

The ocean is truly the flywheel of the climate system. By definition, a flywheel gains its efficiency from interactions with other parts of the system. Climate is determined, to a large extent, by the rates of energy transfer across the sea surface. It is these rates that determine the lag times and feedback loops and so ultimately the character of climate fluctuations in the oceans and elsewhere.

Webster’s Dictionary defines climate as “the prevailing temperature or environmental condition characterizing a group or period”.

House of Lords, 1989, „Greenhouse Effect“, Volume II-Evidence; Select Committee on Science and Technology, Session 1988-89, 6th Report, 4 April 1989, p. 11. (London, HM’s Stationary Office)

Lord Clitheroe

34. 40 years ago, my tutor when I was at Oxford was teaching me just the same subject, except that he was saying at that time the probability was that the raising of the temperature would alter the currents of the sea to make the climate of England colder rather than hotter.

(Professor T.M.L. Wigley)

I think that is extremely unlikely, although that is one of those stories that still crops up every now and again in the press.

Further INFO: In a subsequent answer to Lord Nelson of Stafford (38); Professor Wigley states: My own background is in theoretical physics, although I trained as meteorologist. There are a number of other people who are climatologists now, who have similar backgrounds to myself.