Abstract. Earth and environmental mechanisms and phenomena are often physically finite dynamical causal processes and need more precise mathematical elaboration. Therefore this article at the beginning resumes the decomposition of general infinite circular causal relations with linear feedbacks to primary causal effects and to interactions among boundless effects and causes. In the sequel it reveals the mathematical model of general finite cause-and-effect interaction with non-linear feedback induced by finiteness of causal processes with exhaustible causal capacities. The study also uncovers that the reverse application of the mathematical model makes it possible to discover and to estimate the unknown ultimate causal capacities from relevant information of supposedly finite causal processes beyond the instant of observation. The article at the end demonstrates that the environmental relations among global climate change and ice mass losses monitored recently on Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets are plausibly finite dynamical climate processes in interaction with cryosphere.
These are the comments on discussion submitted by anonymous Referee #1 for manuscript entitled 'Dynamics of finite causal processes' Referee: This manuscript attempts to apply the concepts of the 'general systems theory' (GST) of Ludwig von Bertalanffy to explain changes of the physical climate, in particular the causal relationship between 'ïňĄnite ice melting' (the cause M) and 'ice mass Losses' (The effect). The 'general systems theory' of Ludwig von Bertalanffy is a holistic, controversial theory, started in 1938, that may qualitatively explain some phenomena in ecology and social sciences but is far from being accepted as a science subjected to veriïňĄcation and falsiïňĄcation. Moreover, it presents a simplistic theory of the linear feedback which comes out as a very particular case of the much more general and well-grounded and mathematically funded 'Control system's theory'.
Reviewer #2: I strongly sympathize with the research questions that motivated this study, because they are extremely relevant and timely in general physics and in earth system dynamics in particular. The author takes a bold approach to causality that, at ïňĄrst sight, intuitively makes a lot of sense in view of open philosophical discussions that have been going on for a long time. Submission of this article to ESD was encouraged by enthusiastic aims and scopes of this journal. Reviewer #2: In my opinion, the fundamental problems are that the theoretical bases are far from being consolidated and the mathematical formulation is far from being fully matured.
This appendix brings forward an illustrative example calculation in 10 steps of the FMLI model (21-33) according the FCEI concept (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) in dimensionless form (MU=1, i=1) presented in M-L space, (Table B-1 and Fig. B-1).Please also note the supplement to this comment: https://www.earth-syst-dynam-discuss.net/esd-2018-20/esd-2018-20-AC2supplement.pdf Interactive comment on Earth Syst. Dynam. Discuss., https://doi.org/10. 5194/esd-2018-20, 2018. C1
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