North Atlantic cloud cover response to the North Atlantic oscillation and relationship to surface temperature changes

Previdi, Michael; Veron, Dana E.

doi:10.1029/2006jd007516

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Variations in the NAM/NAO are marked by a range of cloud incidence anomalies over the North Atlantic sector. Poleward of ∼55 • N, the positive polarity of the NAM/NAO is marked by increases in upper tropospheric cloud incidence to the east of Greenland juxtaposed against much weaker decreases to the west (Figure 3b) [see also Previdi and Veron, 2007;Devasthale et al, 2012]. At middle latitudes, the positive polarity of the NAM/NAO is associated with decreases in upper tropospheric cloud incidence that extend from the west of Gibraltar into eastern Europe.…”

Section: North Atlantic Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The above studies demonstrate that the NAM/NAO has a robust regional signature in clouds, but they do not explore the attendant changes in cloud radiative forcing. Previdi and Veron [] examined the signature of the NAO in cloud cover and cloud radiative forcing over the high‐latitude North Atlantic. However, their study focuses only on the northern high latitudes, and their cloud radiative forcing is estimated as the simple difference between all‐sky and clear‐sky condition, which does not necessarily accurately quantify the cloud radiative effect [ Soden et al , ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Observed linkages between the northern annular mode/North Atlantic Oscillation, cloud incidence, and cloud radiative forcing

Liu

Thompson

Huang

et al. 2014

Geophysical Research Letters

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The signature of the northern annular mode/North Atlantic Oscillation (NAM/NAO) in the vertical and horizontal distribution of tropospheric cloudiness is investigated in CloudSat and CALIPSO data from June 2006 to April 2011. During the Northern Hemisphere winter, the positive polarity of the NAM/NAO is marked by increases in zonally averaged cloud incidence north of ∼60• N, decreases between ∼25 and 50• N, and increases in the subtropics. The tripolar-like anomalies in cloud incidence associated with the NAM/NAO are largest over the North Atlantic Ocean basin/Middle East and are physically consistent with the NAM/NAO-related anomalies in vertical motion. Importantly, the NAM/NAO-related anomalies in tropospheric cloud incidence lead to significant top of atmosphere cloud radiative forcing anomalies that are comparable in amplitude to those associated with the NAM/NAO-related temperature anomalies. The results provide observational evidence that the most prominent pattern of Northern Hemisphere climate variability is significantly linked to variations in cloud radiative forcing. Implications for two-way feedback between extratropical dynamics and cloud radiative forcing are discussed.

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Section: North Atlantic Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observed linkages between the northern annular mode/North Atlantic Oscillation, cloud incidence, and cloud radiative forcing

Liu

Thompson

Huang

et al. 2014

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…The area of decreasing cloudiness corresponds broadly to our area of interest in the evolution of the northern Gothic interior lighting aesthetic. In addition, Previdi and Vernon (2007) show that cloud cover (measured by decreased shortwave radiation and increased longwave radiation incident at the surface, see their Fig. 7) for high NAO index months is particularly substantial over the British Isles and western Norway.…”

Section: Nao Proxies and Winter Cloudinessmentioning

confidence: 95%

Stained Glass and Climate Change: How are they Connected?

Simmons¹,

Mysak²

2012

Atmosphere-Ocean

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As expressions of regional architecture, sacred (Christian) Gothic structures often possess several adaptations to their prevailing climate regime. The late medieval (Gothic) period in northern Europe is also, according to the evidence presented here, marked by a transition from warm and sunny to cooler and cloudier conditions. It is within the context of this climate change that we consider one of the most important features in Gothic churches-interior daylighting-during the transitional period (the thirteenth to the end of the fifteenth centuries) between the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and the Little Ice Age (LIA). This paper seeks to determine whether increasingly cloudy conditions over northern continental Europe, in part due to a shift in North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) phase, may have influenced the use of more white glass in the fourteenth century. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time an extensive daylighting dataset has been collected in medieval sacred interiors. From an analysis of these illuminance and luminance data collected in European churches and cathedrals, we find that high-translucency glazing is associated with limited lighting gains compared to full-colour programs under sunny conditions but substantial lighting improvements (up to an order of magnitude) for cloudy conditions. Additionally, we find that backlighting from direct sunlight produces significant obscuration of some of the iconographical glass when interiors are dominated by high-translucency glazing, further suggesting that these interiors are not ideal for sunny conditions. RÉSUMÉ [Traduit par la rédaction] Étant donné que les cathédrales gothiques (chrétiennes) sont des expressions de l'architecture régionale, plusieurs adaptations au climat de l'époque y ont souvent été apportées. À la fin du Moyen Âge (période du gothique), le climat chaud et ensoleillé en Europe du nord continentale a fait place à un climat plus froid et plus nuageux, d'après les preuves que nous présentons ici. C'est donc dans la perspective de ce changement climatique que nous nous penchons sur l'un des éléments les plus importants de l'architecture des églises gothique, l'éclairage naturel intérieur, durant la transition (du XIII e siècle à la fin du XV e siècle) entre la période chaude médiévale (MWP) et le petit âge glaciaire (LIA). Dans le présent article, nous voulons notamment évaluer si l'utilisation de plus en plus fréquente du vitrail blanc au XIV e siècle s'expliquerait par les conditions plus nuageuses en Europe du nord continentale, attribuables en partie à un changement dans l'indice d'oscillation nord-atlantique (NAO). À notre connaissance, c'est la première fois qu'une série élaborée de données a été recueillie sur l'éclairage à l'intérieur des cathédrales gothiques. L'analyse des données sur l'éclairement lumineux et la luminance lumineuse dans les églises et les cathédrales d'Europe nous permet de constater que le verre très translucide présente peu d'avantages comparativement au verre plein coloré dans des conditions ensol...

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“…For example, an increase in storm frequency over the northeast Northern Atlantic Ocean (e.g., Greenland and Surface-based measurements of cloud vertical distribution are only available over a few locations in the Arctic (Shupe et al, 2011 and references therein). Some of the previous studies investigate co-variability among different atmospheric and surface parameters with the AO or the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) over the high latitude regions and the role of synoptic scale processes therein (Park and Leovy, 2000;Trigo et al, 2002;Hurrell et al, 2003;Wang and Key, 2003;Previdi and Veron, 2007; and references in these studies). However, very few studies examine how cloud distribution is influenced by the AO.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their observations, however, were restricted to below roughly 60 • N. Trigo et al (2002) used NCEP reanalysis data to show increase in precipitable water over northern Europe and decrease over Greenland and northern Canada during high NAO index periods; and vice versa during the low NAO periods. Previdi and Veron (2007) used regional climate model to show similar spatial co-variability in cloud liquid and ice water path and the NAO. They also use satellite based observations of total cloud fraction (2-D) to check the consistency of their modelling results.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of the Arctic Oscillation on the vertical distribution of clouds as observed by the A-Train constellation of satellites

et al. 2012

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Abstract. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of the Arctic Oscillation (AO), the dominant mode of natural variability over the northerly high latitudes, on the spatial (horizontal and vertical) distribution of clouds in the Arctic. To that end, we use a suite of sensors onboard NASA's A-Train satellites that provide accurate observations of the distribution of clouds along with information on atmospheric thermodynamics. Data from three independent sensors are used (AQUA-AIRS, CALIOP-CALIPSO and CPR-CloudSat) covering two time periods (winter half years, November through March, of 2002-2011 and 2006-2011, respectively) along with data from the ERA-Interim reanalysis.We show that the zonal vertical distribution of cloud fraction anomalies averaged over 67-82 • N to a first approximation follows a dipole structure (referred to as "Greenland cloud dipole anomaly", GCDA), such that during the positive phase of the AO, positive and negative cloud anomalies are observed eastwards and westward of Greenland respectively, while the opposite is true for the negative phase of AO. By investigating the concurrent meteorological conditions (temperature, humidity and winds), we show that differences in the meridional energy and moisture transport during the positive and negative phases of the AO and the associated thermodynamics are responsible for the conditions that are conducive for the formation of this dipole structure. All three satellite sensors broadly observe this large-scale GCDA despite differences in their sensitivities, spatio-temporal and vertical resolutions, and the available lengths of data records, indicating the robustness of the results. The present study also provides a compelling case to carry out process-based evaluation of global and regional climate models.

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North Atlantic cloud cover response to the North Atlantic oscillation and relationship to surface temperature changes

Cited by 14 publications

References 34 publications

Observed linkages between the northern annular mode/North Atlantic Oscillation, cloud incidence, and cloud radiative forcing

Observed linkages between the northern annular mode/North Atlantic Oscillation, cloud incidence, and cloud radiative forcing

Stained Glass and Climate Change: How are they Connected?

Influence of the Arctic Oscillation on the vertical distribution of clouds as observed by the A-Train constellation of satellites

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