The implication of radiative forcing and feedback for meridional energy transport

Huang, Yi; Zhang, Minghong

doi:10.1002/2013gl059079

Cited by 35 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The result is a robust increase in poleward AHT in the mid-latitudes of both hemispheres (by about 0.3 PW at the climatological maxima) and a slight decrease in poleward AHT into the Arctic (Fig. 3a), consistent with previous studies (e.g., Zelinka and Hartmann 2012;Huang and Zhang 2014). The relative contributions of the MMC, stationary eddies, and transient eddies to anomalous AHT vary with latitude.…”

Section: A a Dynamic Perspectivesupporting

confidence: 90%

“…(8) to each component of Q net separately permits quantification of the poleward AHT changes implied by λ (x)T (x), R f (x) and G (x) (Zelinka and Hartmann 2012;Huang and Zhang 2014). In this view, processes that preferentially add energy to the tropical atmosphere (e.g., CO 2 forcing and water-vapor feedback) or remove energy from the extratropical atmosphere (e.g., sub-9 polar ocean heat uptake) act to increase poleward AHT in mid-latitudes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3;Held and Soden 2006;Hwang and Frierson 2010;Zelinka and Hartmann 2012;Wu et al 2011;Huang and Zhang 2014). Meanwhile, they predict little change or even a decrease in poleward AHT at high latitudes ( Fig.…”

Section: In Summentioning

confidence: 93%

“…While each perspective has been applied to GCM output previously (e.g., Hwang and Frierson 2010;Wu et al 2011;Huang and Zhang 2014), here we apply all three to the same set of CMIP5 simulations, permitting a novel comparison of the perspectives in a like-with-like way.…”

Section: In Summentioning

confidence: 99%

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Meridional atmospheric heat transport constrained by energetics and mediated by large-scale diffusion

Armour¹,

Siler²,

Donohoe³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Meridional atmospheric heat transport (AHT) has been investigated through three broad perspectives: a dynamic perspective, linking AHT to the poleward flux of moist static energy (MSE) by atmospheric motions; an energetic perspective, linking AHT to energy input to the atmosphere by top-of-atmosphere radiation and surface heat fluxes; and a diffusive perspective, representing AHT in terms down-gradient energy transport. It is shown here that the three perspectives provide complementary diagnostics of meridional AHT and its changes under greenhouse-gas forcing. When combined, the energetic and diffusive perspectives offer prognostic insights: anomalous AHT is constrained to satisfy the net energetic demands of radiative forcing, radiative feedbacks, and ocean heat uptake; in turn, the meridional pattern of warming must adjust to produce those AHT changes, and does so approximately according to diffusion of anomalous MSE. The relationship between temperature and MSE exerts strong constraints on the warming pattern, favoring polar amplification. These conclusions are supported by use of a diffusive moist energy balance model (EBM) that accurately predicts zonal-mean warming and AHT changes within comprehensive general circulation models (GCMs). A dry diffusive EBM predicts similar AHT changes in order to satisfy the same energetic constraints, but does so through tropically-amplified warming -at odds with the GCMs' polar-amplified warming pattern. The results suggest that polar-amplified warming is a near-inevitable consequence of a moist, diffusive atmosphere's response to greenhouse-gas forcing. In this view, atmospheric circulations must act to satisfy net AHT as constrained by energetics.

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Section: A a Dynamic Perspectivesupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: In Summentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: In Summentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Meridional atmospheric heat transport constrained by energetics and mediated by large-scale diffusion

Armour¹,

Siler²,

Donohoe³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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“…Note that the radiative effect of clouds is obtained using the cloud forcing adjustment method that incorporates the instantaneous forcing and stratospheric adjustment calculated above (cf. Huang, 2013;Huang and Zhang, 2014).…”

Section: Tropospheric Adjustmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strong modification of stratospheric ozone forcing by cloud and sea-ice adjustments

Xia

Huang

2016

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

Self Cite

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Abstract. We investigate the climatic impact of stratospheric ozone recovery (SOR), with a focus on the surface temperature change in atmosphere-slab ocean coupled climate simulations. We find that although SOR would cause significant surface warming (global mean: 0.2 K) in a climate free of clouds and sea ice, it causes surface cooling (−0.06 K) in the real climate. The results here are especially interesting in that the stratosphere-adjusted radiative forcing is positive in both cases. Radiation diagnosis shows that the surface cooling is mainly due to a strong radiative effect resulting from significant reduction of global high clouds and, to a lesser extent, from an increase in high-latitude sea ice. Our simulation experiments suggest that clouds and sea ice are sensitive to stratospheric ozone perturbation, which constitutes a significant radiative adjustment that influences the sign and magnitude of the global surface temperature change.

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Inhomogeneous radiative forcing of homogeneous greenhouse gases

2016

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Radiative forcing of a homogeneous greenhouse gas (HGG) can be very inhomogeneous because the forcing is dependent on other atmospheric and surface variables. In the case of doubling CO2, the monthly mean instantaneous forcing at the top of the atmosphere is found to vary geographically and temporally from positive to negative values, with the range (−2.5–5.1 W m−2) being more than 3 times the magnitude of the global mean value (2.3 W m−2). The vertical temperature change across the atmospheric column (temperature lapse rate) is found to be the best single predictor for explaining forcing variation. In addition, the masking effects of clouds and water vapor also contribute to forcing inhomogeneity. A regression model that predicts forcing from geophysical variables is constructed. This model can explain more than 90% of the variance of the forcing. Applying this model to analyzing the forcing variation in the Climate Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models, we find that intermodel discrepancy in CO2 forcing caused by model climatology leads to considerable discrepancy in their projected change in poleward energy transport.

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The implication of radiative forcing and feedback for meridional energy transport

Cited by 35 publications

References 27 publications

Meridional atmospheric heat transport constrained by energetics and mediated by large-scale diffusion

Meridional atmospheric heat transport constrained by energetics and mediated by large-scale diffusion

Strong modification of stratospheric ozone forcing by cloud and sea-ice adjustments

Inhomogeneous radiative forcing of homogeneous greenhouse gases

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