Impact of the Warming Pattern on Global Energetics

Hernández-Deckers, Daniel; Storch, Jin Song von

doi:10.1175/jcli-d-11-00468.1

Cited by 5 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Warming patterns can alter G either by affecting the gross static stability (stronger stability implies a weaker energy cycle, as clear from the theory of baroclinic instability) or the meridional temperature/diabatic heating distribution. Hernandez‐Deckers and von Storch [] show that the decrease in G is mostly associated with changes in the gross static stability changes rather than with meridional temperature gradient changes.…”

Section: Climate As a Forced‐dissipative Thermodynamic Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mathematical and physical ideas for climate science

et al. 2014

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The climate is a forced and dissipative nonlinear system featuring nontrivial dynamics on a vast range of spatial and temporal scales. The understanding of the climate's structural and multiscale properties is crucial for the provision of a unifying picture of its dynamics and for the implementation of accurate and efficient numerical models. We present some recent developments at the intersection between climate science, mathematics, and physics, which may prove fruitful in the direction of constructing a more comprehensive account of climate dynamics. We describe the Nambu formulation of fluid dynamics and the potential of such a theory for constructing sophisticated numerical models of geophysical fluids. Then, we focus on the statistical mechanics of quasi-equilibrium flows in a rotating environment, which seems crucial for constructing a robust theory of geophysical turbulence. We then discuss ideas and methods suited for approaching directly the nonequilibrium nature of the climate system. First, we describe some recent findings on the thermodynamics of climate, characterize its energy and entropy budgets, and discuss related methods for intercomparing climate models and for studying tipping points. These ideas can also create a common ground between geophysics and astrophysics by suggesting general tools for studying exoplanetary atmospheres. We conclude by focusing on nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, which allows for a unified framing of problems as different as the climate response to forcings, the effect of altering the boundary conditions or the coupling between geophysical flows, and the derivation of parametrizations for numerical models.

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Section: Climate As a Forced‐dissipative Thermodynamic Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mathematical and physical ideas for climate science

et al. 2014

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“…Figure 2 illustrates the results obtained using the "dry" model. Since climate change affects both static stability and MTG [67], we calculated, for reference, the increments of unstable waves for different values of the parameters σ 0 and u T . Figure 2 illustrates the results obtained using the "dry" model.…”

Section: The Impact Of Climate Change On the Increment Of Large-scale Baroclinic Unstable Wavesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Global Warming on the Poleward Heat Transport by Non-Stationary Large-Scale Atmospheric Eddies, and Feedbacks Affecting the Formation of the Arctic Climate

Soldatenko

2021

JMSE

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It is a well-known fact that the observed rise in the Arctic near-surface temperature is more than double the increase in global mean temperature. However, the entire scientific picture of the formation of the Arctic amplification has not yet taken final shape and the causes of this phenomenon are still being discussed within the scientific community. Some recent studies suggest that the atmospheric equator-to-pole transport of heat and moisture, and also radiative feedbacks, are among the possible reasons for the Arctic amplification. In this paper, we highlight and summarize some of our research related to assessing the response of climate in the Arctic to global warming and vice versa. Since extratropical transient eddies dominate the meridional transport of sensible and latent heat from low to high latitudes, we estimated the effect of climate change on meridional heat transport by means of the β-plane model of baroclinic instability. It has been shown that the heat transport from low and middle latitudes to the Arctic by large scale transient eddies increases by about 9% due to global warming, contributing to the polar amplification—and thereby a decrease in the extent—of the Arctic sea, which, in turn, is an important factor in the formation of the Arctic climate. The main radiative feedback mechanisms affecting the formation of the Arctic climate are also considered and discussed. It was emphasized that the influence of feedbacks depends on a season since the total feedback in the winter season is negative, while in the summer season, it is positive. Thus, further research is required to diminish the uncertainty regarding the character of various feedback mechanisms in the shaping of the Artic climate and, through that, in predicting the extent of Arctic sea ice.

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“…However, human-induced tropospheric warming is not uniform across the globe [1]. The most prominent warming is observed in the northern polar region near the surface (polar amplification phenomenon [57,58]) and at the upper equatorial troposphere implying changes in both static stability and MTG [59]. As a result of this warming, static stability increases in mid-latitude and tropical areas and decreases in polar areas [59][60][61][62].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most prominent warming is observed in the northern polar region near the surface (polar amplification phenomenon [57,58]) and at the upper equatorial troposphere implying changes in both static stability and MTG [59]. As a result of this warming, static stability increases in mid-latitude and tropical areas and decreases in polar areas [59][60][61][62]. In turn, the MTG increases in the higher altitudes and decreases at the surface which can provide, respectively, favorable and adverse conditions for the formation of large-scale extratropical eddies [52,56,59,63,64].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result of this warming, static stability increases in mid-latitude and tropical areas and decreases in polar areas [59][60][61][62]. In turn, the MTG increases in the higher altitudes and decreases at the surface which can provide, respectively, favorable and adverse conditions for the formation of large-scale extratropical eddies [52,56,59,63,64]. Thus, with global warming, static stability and MTG are expected to undergo certain changes affecting the formation and evolution of transient extratropical eddies, which will impact the heat and moisture macro-exchange between low and high latitudes, and, thereof, the earth's hydrological cycle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Estimated Impacts of Climate Change on Eddy Meridional Moisture Transport in the Atmosphere

Soldatenko

2019

Applied Sciences

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Research findings suggest that water (hydrological) cycle of the earth intensifies in response to climate change, since the amount of water that evaporates from the ocean and land to the atmosphere and the total water content in the air will increase with temperature. In addition, climate change affects the large-scale atmospheric circulation by, for example, altering the characteristics of extratropical transient eddies (cyclones), which play a dominant role in the meridional transport of heat, moisture, and momentum from tropical to polar latitudes. Thus, climate change also affects the planetary hydrological cycle by redistributing atmospheric moisture around the globe. Baroclinic instability, a specific type of dynamical instability of the zonal atmospheric flow, is the principal mechanism by which extratropical cyclones form and evolve. It is expected that, due to global warming, the two most fundamental dynamical quantities that control the development of baroclinic instability and the overall global atmospheric dynamics—the parameter of static stability and the meridional temperature gradient (MTG)—will undergo certain changes. As a result, climate change can affect the formation and evolution of transient extratropical eddies and, therefore, macro-exchange of heat and moisture between low and high latitudes and the global water cycle as a whole. In this paper, we explore the effect of changes in the static stability parameter and MTG caused by climate change on the annual-mean eddy meridional moisture flux (AMEMF), using the two classical atmospheric models: the mid-latitude f-plane model and the two-layer β-plane model. These models are represented in two versions: “dry,” which considers the static stability of dry air alone, and “moist,” in which effective static stability is considered as a combination of stability of dry and moist air together. Sensitivity functions were derived for these models that enable estimating the influence of infinitesimal perturbations in the parameter of static stability and MTG on the AMEMF and on large-scale eddy dynamics characterized by the growth rate of unstable baroclinic waves of various wavelengths. For the base climate change scenario, in which the surface temperature increases by 1 °C and warming of the upper troposphere outpaces warming of the lower troposphere by 2 °C (this scenario corresponds to the observed warming trend), the response of the mass-weighted vertically averaged annual mean MTG is -0.2 ℃ per 1000 km. The dry static stability increases insignificantly relative to the reference climate state, while on the other hand, the effective static stability decreases by more than 5.4%. Assuming that static stability of the atmosphere and the MTG are independent of each other (using One-factor-at-a-time approach), we estimate that the increase in AMEMF caused by change in MTG is about 4%. Change in dry static stability has little effect on AMEMF, while change in effective static stability leads to an increase in AMEMF of about 5%. Thus, neglecting atmospheric moisture in calculations of the atmospheric static stability leads to tangible differences between the results obtained using the dry and moist models. Moist models predict ~9% increase in AMEMF due to global warming. Dry models predict ~4% increase in AMEMF solely because of the change in MTG. For the base climate change scenario, the average temperature of the lower troposphere (up to ~4 km), in which the atmospheric moisture is concentrated, increases by ~1.5 ℃. This leads to an increase in specific humidity of about 10.5%. Thus, since both AMEMF and atmospheric water vapor content increase due to the influence of climate change, a rather noticeable restructuring of the global water cycle is expected.

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Impact of the Warming Pattern on Global Energetics

Cited by 5 publications

References 27 publications

Mathematical and physical ideas for climate science

Mathematical and physical ideas for climate science

Effects of Global Warming on the Poleward Heat Transport by Non-Stationary Large-Scale Atmospheric Eddies, and Feedbacks Affecting the Formation of the Arctic Climate

Estimated Impacts of Climate Change on Eddy Meridional Moisture Transport in the Atmosphere

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