scholarly journals Interactions among Cloud, Water Vapor, Radiation, and Large-Scale Circulation in the Tropical Climate. Part I: Sensitivity to Uniform Sea Surface Temperature Changes

2003 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1425-1440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Larson ◽  
Dennis L. Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Cloud Amount ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Lapse Rate ◽  
High Cloud ◽  
Clear Sky

Abstract The responses of tropical clouds and water vapor to SST variations are investigated with simple numerical experiments. The fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU–NCAR) Mesoscale Model is used with doubly periodic boundary conditions and a uniform constant sea surface temperature (SST). The SST is varied and the equilibrium statistics of cloud properties, water vapor, and circulation at different temperatures are compared. The top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes have the same sensitivities to SST as in observations averaged from 20°N to 20°S over the Pacific, suggesting that the model sensitivities are realistic. As the SST increases, the temperature profile approximately follows a moist-adiabatic lapse rate. The rain rate and cloud ice amounts increase with SST. The average relative humidity profile stays approximately constant, but the upper-tropospheric relative humidity increases slightly with SST. The clear-sky mean temperature and water vapor feedbacks have similar magnitudes to each other and opposite signs. The net clear-sky feedback is thus about equal to the lapse rate feedback, which is about −2 W m−2 K−1. The clear-sky outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) thus increases with SST, but the high cloud-top temperature is almost constant with SST, and the high cloud amount increases with SST. The result of these three effects is an increase of cloud longwave forcing with SST and a mean OLR that is almost independent of SST. The high cloud albedo remains almost constant with increasing SST, but the increase in high cloud area causes a negative shortwave cloud radiative forcing feedback, which partly cancels the longwave cloud feedback. The net radiation decreases slightly with SST, giving a small net negative feedback, implying a stable, but very sensitive climate.

scholarly journals Interactions among Cloud, Water Vapor, Radiation, and Large-Scale Circulation in the Tropical Climate. Part II: Sensitivity to Spatial Gradients of Sea Surface Temperature

2003 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1441-1455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Larson ◽  
Dennis L. Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Large Scale Circulation ◽  
High Cloud ◽  
Low Clouds ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Sst Gradient

Abstract The responses of the large-scale circulation, clouds, and water vapor to an imposed sea surface temperature (SST) gradient are investigated. Simulations compare reasonably to averaged observations over the Pacific, considering the simplifications applied to the model. The model responses to sinusoidal SST patterns have distinct circulations in the upper and lower troposphere. The upper circulation is sensitive to the heating from deep convection over the warmest SST. Stronger SST gradients are associated with stronger longwave cooling above stratus clouds in the subsidence region, stronger lower-tropospheric large-scale circulation, a reduction of the rain area, and larger area coverage of low clouds. A similar SST gradient with a warmer mean temperature produces slightly weaker lower-tropospheric circulation, and slightly reduced low cloud coverage. The outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) is not sensitive to the mean SST or the range of the imposed sinusoidal SST gradient. The positive feedbacks of water vapor and decreasing high cloud OLR compensate for the increase in longwave emission with increasing mean temperature in these simulations. As the SST gradient is increased keeping the mean SST constant, the positive high cloud feedback is still active, but the air temperature increases in proportion to the maximum SST in the domain, increasing the clear-sky OLR value and keeping the average OLR constant. The net absorbed shortwave radiation (SWI) is found to be extremely sensitive to the SST gradient. The stronger lower-tropospheric large-scale circulation produces a higher water content in the high and low clouds, increasing the absolute magnitude of the shortwave cloud forcing. A 25% increase in the maximum zonal mass flux of the lower circulation of the 300-K mean, 4-K SST range simulation leads to a 7.4 W m−2 decrease in SWI. Increasing the mean SST creates a positive feedback in these simulations because of the decrease in the lower-tropospheric large-scale circulation and the resultant decrease in cloud optical depth.

scholarly journals Variability of Bulk Water Vapor Content in the Marine Cloudy Boundary Layers from Microwave and Near-Infrared Imagery

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis F. Millán ◽  
Matthew D. Lebsock ◽  
Joao Teixeira
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Water Vapor ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Cloud Amount ◽  
Bulk Water ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Infrared Imagery ◽  
Total Column

Abstract. This work uses the synergy of collocated microwave radiometry and near-infrared imagery to study the marine boundary layer water vapor. The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) provides the total column water vapor, while the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) near-infrared imagery provides the water vapor above the cloud layers. The difference between the two gives the vapor between the surface and the cloud top, which may be interpreted as the boundary layer water vapor under certain conditions. As a by product of this algorithm, we also store cloud top information of the MODIS pixels used, a proxy for the inversion height, as well as the sea surface temperature and total column water vapor from the AMSR measurements. Hence, the AMSR-MODIS dataset provides several of the variables associated with the boundary layer thermodynamic structure. Comparisons against radiosondes, and GPS-Radio Occultation data demonstrate the robustness of these boundary layer water vapor estimates. We explore the annual cycle of the number of observations as a proxy for stratus cloud amount, in well known stratus regions; we then exploit the 16 years of AMSR-MODIS synergy to study for the first time the annual variations of the boundary layer water vapor in comparison to the sea surface temperature and the boundary layer cloud top height (equivalent to the inversion height) climatologies, and lastly, we explore the climatological behavior of these variables on stratocumulus-to-cumulus transitions.

scholarly journals Variability of bulk water vapor content in the marine cloudy boundary layers from microwave and near-infrared imagery

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (13) ◽  
pp. 8491-8502
Author(s):  
Luis F. Millán ◽  
Matthew D. Lebsock ◽  
Joao Teixeira
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Water Vapor ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Cloud Amount ◽  
Bulk Water ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Infrared Imagery ◽  
Total Column

Abstract. This work uses the synergy of collocated microwave radiometry and near-infrared imagery to study the marine boundary layer water vapor. The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) provides the total column water vapor, while the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) near-infrared imagery provides the water vapor above the cloud layers. The difference between the two gives the vapor between the surface and the cloud top, which may be interpreted as the boundary layer water vapor under certain conditions. As a by-product of this algorithm, we also store cloud top information of the MODIS pixels used, a proxy for the inversion height, as well as the sea surface temperature and total column water vapor from the AMSR measurements. Hence, the AMSR–MODIS dataset provides several of the variables associated with the boundary layer thermodynamic structure. Comparisons against radiosondes and GPS radio occultation (GPSRO) data demonstrate the robustness of these boundary layer water vapor estimates. We explore the annual cycle of the number of observations as a proxy for stratus cloud amount, in well-known stratus regions; we then exploit the 16 years of AMSR–MODIS synergy to study for the first time the annual variations of the boundary layer water vapor in comparison to the sea surface temperature and the boundary layer cloud top height (equivalent to the inversion height) climatologies, and lastly we explore the climatological behavior of these variables on stratocumulus-to-cumulus transitions.

scholarly journals Impact of Desert Dust Radiative Forcing on Sahel Precipitation: Relative Importance of Dust Compared to Sea Surface Temperature Variations, Vegetation Changes, and Greenhouse Gas Warming

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1445-1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaru Yoshioka ◽  
Natalie M. Mahowald ◽  
Andrew J. Conley ◽  
William D. Collins ◽  
David W. Fillmore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Desert Dust ◽  
Direct Radiative Forcing ◽  
Sahel Region ◽  
Precipitation Reduction ◽  
Sahel Precipitation

Abstract The role of direct radiative forcing of desert dust aerosol in the change from wet to dry climate observed in the African Sahel region in the last half of the twentieth century is investigated using simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model. The model simulations are conducted either forced by the observed sea surface temperature (SST) or coupled with the interactive SST using the Slab Ocean Model (SOM). The simulation model uses dust that is less absorbing in the solar wavelengths and has larger particle sizes than other simulation studies. As a result, simulations show less shortwave absorption within the atmosphere and larger longwave radiative forcing by dust. Simulations using SOM show reduced precipitation over the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) including the Sahel region and increased precipitation south of the ITCZ when dust radiative forcing is included. In SST-forced simulations, on the other hand, significant precipitation changes are restricted to over North Africa. These changes are considered to be due to the cooling of global tropical oceans as well as the cooling of the troposphere over North Africa in response to dust radiative forcing. The model simulation of dust cannot capture the magnitude of the observed increase of desert dust when allowing dust to respond to changes in simulated climate, even including changes in vegetation, similar to previous studies. If the model is forced to capture observed changes in desert dust, the direct radiative forcing by the increase of North African dust can explain up to 30% of the observed precipitation reduction in the Sahel between wet and dry periods. A large part of this effect comes through atmospheric forcing of dust, and dust forcing on the Atlantic Ocean SST appears to have a smaller impact. The changes in the North and South Atlantic SSTs may account for up to 50% of the Sahel precipitation reduction. Vegetation loss in the Sahel region may explain about 10% of the observed drying, but this effect is statistically insignificant because of the small number of years in the simulation. Greenhouse gas warming seems to have an impact to increase Sahel precipitation that is opposite to the observed change. Although the estimated values of impacts are likely to be model dependent, analyses suggest the importance of direct radiative forcing of dust and feedbacks in modulating Sahel precipitation.

scholarly journals Role of sea surface temperature responses in simulation of the climatic effect of mineral dust aerosol

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 6049-6062 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Yue ◽  
H. Liao ◽  
H. J. Wang ◽  
S. L. Li ◽  
J. P. Tang
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Dust Aerosol ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Climatic Effect ◽  
Radiative Effects ◽  
Climate Simulations

Abstract. Mineral dust aerosol can be transported over the nearby oceans and influence the energy balance at the sea surface. The role of dust-induced sea surface temperature (SST) responses in simulations of the climatic effect of dust is examined by using a general circulation model with online simulation of mineral dust and a coupled mixed-layer ocean model. Both the longwave and shortwave radiative effects of mineral dust aerosol are considered in climate simulations. The SST responses are found to be very influential on simulated dust-induced climate change, especially when climate simulations consider the two-way dust-climate coupling to account for the feedbacks. With prescribed SSTs and dust concentrations, we obtain an increase of 0.02 K in the global and annual mean surface air temperature (SAT) in response to dust radiative effects. In contrast, when SSTs are allowed to respond to radiative forcing of dust in the presence of the dust cycle-climate interactions, we obtain a global and annual mean cooling of 0.09 K in SAT by dust. The extra cooling simulated with the SST responses can be attributed to the following two factors: (1) The negative net (shortwave plus longwave) radiative forcing of dust at the surface reduces SST, which decreases latent heat fluxes and upward transport of water vapor, resulting in less warming in the atmosphere; (2) The positive feedback between SST responses and dust cycle. The dust-induced reductions in SST lead to reductions in precipitation (or wet deposition of dust) and hence increase the global burden of small dust particles. These small particles have strong scattering effects, which enhance the dust cooling at the surface and further reduce SSTs.

Correcting infrared satellite estimates of sea surface temperature for atmospheric water vapor attenuation

1994 ◽  
Vol 99 (C3) ◽  
pp. 5219 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Emery ◽  
Yunyue Yu ◽  
Gary A. Wick ◽  
Peter Schluessel ◽  
Richard W. Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Atmospheric Water Vapor ◽  
Atmospheric Water

scholarly journals The influence of direct radiative forcing versus indirect sea surface temperature warming on southern hemisphere subtropical anticyclones under global warming

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah A. Fahad ◽  
Natalie J. Burls
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Diabatic Heating ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Atmospheric Response ◽  
Austral Winter ◽  
Subtropical Anticyclone ◽  
Surface Temperature Warming

AbstractSouthern hemisphere subtropical anticyclones are projected to change in a warmer climate during both austral summer and winter. A recent study of CMIP 5 & 6 projections found a combination of local diabatic heating changes and static-stability-induced changes in baroclinic eddy growth as the dominant drivers. Yet the underlying mechanisms forcing these changes still remain uninvestigated. This study aims to enhance our mechanistic understanding of what drives these Southern Hemisphere anticyclones changes during both seasons. Using an AGCM, we decompose the response to CO2-induced warming into two components: (1) the fast atmospheric response to direct CO2 radiative forcing, and (2) the slow atmospheric response due to indirect sea surface temperature warming. Additionally, we isolate the influence of tropical diabatic heating with AGCM added heating experiments. As a complement to our numerical AGCM experiments, we analyze the Atmospheric and Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project experiments. Results from sensitivity experiments show that slow subtropical sea surface temperature warming primarily forces the projected changes in subtropical anticyclones through baroclinicity change. Fast CO2 atmospheric radiative forcing on the other hand plays a secondary role, with the most notable exception being the South Atlantic subtropical anticyclone in austral winter, where it opposes the forcing by sea surface temperature changes resulting in a muted net response. Lastly, we find that tropical diabatic heating changes only significantly influence Southern Hemisphere subtropical anticyclone changes through tropospheric wind shear changes during austral winter.

scholarly journals Application of Multivariate Sensitivity Analysis Techniques to AGCM-Simulated Tropical Cyclones

2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (7) ◽  
pp. 2065-2088 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei He ◽  
Derek J. Posselt ◽  
Naveen N. Narisetty ◽  
Colin M. Zarzycki ◽  
Vijayan N. Nair
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Precipitation Rate ◽  
Analysis Framework ◽  
Control Factors

Abstract This work demonstrates the use of Sobol’s sensitivity analysis framework to examine multivariate input–output relationships in dynamical systems. The methodology allows simultaneous exploration of the effect of changes in multiple inputs, and accommodates nonlinear interaction effects among parameters in a computationally affordable way. The concept is illustrated via computation of the sensitivities of atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM)-simulated tropical cyclones to changes in model initial conditions. Specifically, Sobol’s variance-based sensitivity analysis is used to examine the response of cyclone intensity, cloud radiative forcing, cloud content, and precipitation rate to changes in initial conditions in an idealized AGCM-simulated tropical cyclone (TC). Control factors of interest include the following: initial vortex size and intensity, environmental sea surface temperature, vertical lapse rate, and midlevel relative humidity. The sensitivity analysis demonstrates systematic increases in TC intensity with increasing sea surface temperature and atmospheric temperature lapse rates, consistent with many previous studies. However, there are nonlinear interactions among control factors that affect the response of the precipitation rate, cloud content, and radiative forcing. In addition, sensitivities to control factors differ significantly when the model is run at different resolution, and coarse-resolution simulations are unable to produce a realistic TC. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of a quantitative sensitivity analysis framework for the exploration of dynamic system responses to perturbations, and have implications for the generation of ensembles.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document