scholarly journals The Influence of Atmospheric Cloud Radiative Effects on the Large-Scale Stratospheric Circulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (15) ◽  
pp. 5621-5635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Li ◽  
David W. J. Thompson ◽  
Yi Huang
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Static Stability ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Radiative Effects ◽  
Dynamic Component ◽  
Cloud Radiative Effects ◽  
Stratospheric Circulation ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Stratospheric Variability

Previous studies have explored the influence of atmospheric cloud radiative effects (ACRE) on the tropospheric circulation. Here the authors explore the influence of ACRE on the stratospheric circulation. The response of the stratospheric circulation to ACRE is assessed by comparing simulations run with and without ACRE. The stratospheric circulation response to ACRE is reproducible in a range of different GCMs and can be interpreted in the context of both a dynamically driven and a radiatively driven component. The dynamic component is linked to ACRE-induced changes in the vertical and meridional fluxes of wave activity. The ACRE-induced changes in the vertical flux of wave activity into the stratosphere are consistent with the ACRE-induced changes in tropospheric baroclinicity and thus the amplitude of midlatitude baroclinic eddies. They account for a strengthening of the Brewer–Dobson circulation, a cooling of the tropical lower stratosphere, a weakening and warming of the polar vortex, a reduction of static stability near the tropical tropopause transition layer, and a shortening of the time scale of extratropical stratospheric variability. The ACRE-induced changes in the equatorward flux of wave activity in the low-latitude stratosphere account for a strengthening of the zonal wind in the subtropical lower to midstratosphere. The radiative component is linked to ACRE-induced changes in the flux of longwave radiation into the lower stratosphere. The changes in radiative fluxes lead to a cooling of the extratropical lower stratosphere, changes in the static stability and cloud fraction near the extratropical tropopause, and a shortening of the time scales of extratropical stratospheric variability. The results highlight a previously overlooked pathway through which tropospheric climate influences the stratosphere.

scholarly journals Observed Signatures of the Barotropic and Baroclinic Annular Modes in Cloud Vertical Structure and Cloud Radiative Effects

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (13) ◽  
pp. 4723-4740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Li ◽  
David W. J. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Vertical Structure ◽  
Vertical Motion ◽  
Longwave Radiation ◽  
Static Stability ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Radiative Effects ◽  
Annular Modes ◽  
Middle Latitudes ◽  
Cloud Radiative Effects

Abstract The signatures of large-scale annular variability on the vertical structure of clouds and cloud radiative effects are examined in vertically resolved CloudSat and other satellite and reanalysis data products. The northern and southern “barotropic” annular modes (the NAM and SAM) have a complex vertical structure. Both are associated with a meridional dipole in clouds between subpolar and middle latitudes, but the sign of the anomalies changes between upper, middle, and lower tropospheric levels. In contrast, the northern and southern baroclinic annular modes have a much simpler vertical structure. Both are linked to same-signed anomalies in clouds extending throughout the troposphere at middle to high latitudes. The changes in cloud incidence associated with both the barotropic and baroclinic annular modes are consistent with dynamical forcing by the attendant changes in static stability and/or vertical motion. The results also provide the first observational estimates of the vertically resolved atmospheric cloud radiative effects associated with hemispheric-scale extratropical variability. In general, the anomalies in atmospheric cloud radiative effects associated with the annular modes peak in the middle to upper troposphere, and are consistent with the anomalous trapping of longwave radiation by variations in upper tropospheric clouds. The southern baroclinic annular mode gives rise to periodic behavior in longwave cloud radiative effects at the top of the atmosphere averaged over Southern Hemisphere midlatitudes.

scholarly journals Sulfate geoengineering: a review of the factors controlling the needed injection of sulfur dioxide

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Visioni ◽  
Giovanni Pitari ◽  
Valentina Aquila
Keyword(s):  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Climate Engineering ◽  
Radiative Effects ◽  
Stratospheric Water Vapor ◽  
Long Wave ◽  
Engineering Technique ◽  
Aerosol Effects ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Fine Tune

Abstract. Sulfate geoengineering has been proposed as an affordable and climate-effective means for temporarily offset the warming produced by the increase of well mixed greenhouse gases (WMGHG). This climate engineering technique has been planned for a timeframe of a few decades needed to implement global inter-governmental measures needed to achieve stabilization of the atmospheric content of WMGHGs (CO2 in particular). The direct radiative effects of sulfur injection in the tropical lower stratosphere can be summarized as increasing shortwave scattering with consequent tropospheric cooling and increasing long- wave absorption with stratospheric warming. Indirect radiative effects are related to induced changes in the ozone distribution, stratospheric water vapor abundance, formation and size of upper tropospheric cirrus ice particles and lifetime of longlived species, namely CH4 in connection with OH changes through several photochemical mechanisms. A direct comparison of the net effects of WMGHG increase with direct and indirect effects of sulfate geoengineering may help fine-tune the best amount of sulfate to be injected in an eventual realization of the experiment. However, we need to take into account large uncertainties in the estimate of some of these aerosol effects, such as cirrus ice particle size modifications.

scholarly journals Sulfate geoengineering: a review of the factors controlling the needed injection of sulfur dioxide

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 3879-3889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Visioni ◽  
Giovanni Pitari ◽  
Valentina Aquila
Keyword(s):  
Sulfur Dioxide ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Atmospheric Models ◽  
Radiative Effects ◽  
Stratospheric Water Vapor ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Volcanic Aerosols ◽  
Aerosol Effects ◽  
Induced Changes

Abstract. Sulfate geoengineering has been proposed as an affordable and climate-effective means to temporarily offset the warming produced by the increase of well-mixed greenhouse gases (WMGHGs). This technique would likely have to be applied while and after global intergovernmental measures on emissions of WMGHGs are implemented in order to achieve surface temperature stabilization. The direct radiative effects of sulfur injection in the tropical lower stratosphere can be summarized as increasing shortwave scattering with consequent tropospheric cooling and increasing longwave absorption with stratospheric warming. Indirect radiative effects are related to induced changes in the ozone distribution; stratospheric water vapor abundance,;formation and size of upper-tropospheric cirrus ice particles; and lifetime of long-lived species, namely CH4 in connection with OH changes through several photochemical mechanisms. Direct and indirect effects of sulfate geoengineering both concur to determine the atmospheric response. A review of previous studies on these effects is presented here, with an outline of the important factors that control the amount of sulfur dioxide to be injected in an eventual realization of the experiment. However, we need to take into account that atmospheric models used for these studies have shown a wide range of climate sensitivity and differences in the response to stratospheric volcanic aerosols. In addition, large uncertainties exist in the estimate of some of these aerosol effects.

scholarly journals Differences in tropical high clouds among reanalyses: origins and radiative impacts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathon S. Wright ◽  
Xiaoyi Sun ◽  
Paul Konopka ◽  
Kirstin Krüger ◽  
Andrea M. Molod ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Cloud Water ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
The Other ◽  
Radiative Effects ◽  
High Cloud ◽  
Cloud Water Content ◽  
Cloud Radiative Effects ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract. We examine differences among reanalysis high cloud products in the tropics, assess the impacts of these differences on radiation budgets at the top of the atmosphere and within the tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS), and discuss their possible origins in the context of the reanalysis models. We focus on the ERA5, ERA-Interim, JRA-55, MERRA-2, and CFSR/CFSv2 reanalyses, with MERRA included in selected comparisons. As a general rule, JRA-55 produces the smallest tropical high cloud fractions and cloud water contents among the reanalyses, while MERRA-2 produces the largest. Accordingly, cloud radiative effects are relatively weak in JRA-55 and relatively strong in MERRA-2. Only MERRA-2 and ERA5 among the reanalyses produce tropical-mean values of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) close to observed, but ERA5 tends to underestimate cloud effects while MERRA-2 tends to overestimate variability. ERA5 also produces distributions of longwave, shortwave, and total cloud radiative effects at top-of-atmosphere that are very consistent with observed. The other reanalyses all exhibit substantial biases in at least one of these metrics, although compensation between the longwave and shortwave effects helps to constrain biases in the total cloud effect for most reanalyses. The vertical distribution of cloud water content emerges as a key difference between ERA-Interim and the other reanalyses. Whereas ERA-Interim shows a monotonic decrease of cloud water content with increasing height, the other reanalyses all produce distinct anvil layers. The latter is in better agreement with observations and yields very different profiles of radiative heating in the UTLS. For example, whereas the altitude of the level of zero net radiative heating tends to be lower in convective regions than in the rest of the tropics in ERA-Interim, the opposite is true for the other four reanalyses. Differences in cloud water content also help to explain systematic differences in diabatic ascent in the tropical lower stratosphere among the reanalyses. We discuss several ways in which aspects of the cloud and convection schemes impact the tropical environment. Discrepancies in the vertical profile of moist static energy in convective regions are particularly noteworthy, as this metric is based exclusively on variables that are directly constrained by data assimilation.

scholarly journals On the Role of Clouds and Moisture in Tropical Waves: A Two-Dimensional Model Study

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 2140-2155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danče Zurovac-Jevtić ◽  
Sandrine Bony ◽  
Kerry Emanuel
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Tropical Atmosphere ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Radiative Effects ◽  
Model Study ◽  
Cloud Radiative Effects

Abstract Observations show that convective perturbations of the tropical atmosphere are associated with substantial variations of clouds and water vapor. Recent studies suggest that these variations may play an active role in the large-scale organization of the tropical atmosphere. The present study investigates that possibility by using a two-dimensional, nonrotating model that includes a set of physical parameterizations carefully evaluated against tropical data. In the absence of cloud–radiation interactions, the model spontaneously generates fast upwind (eastward) moving planetary-scale oscillations through the wind-induced surface heat exchange mechanism. In the presence of cloud–radiative effects, the model generates slower upwind (eastward) propagating modes in addition to small-scale disturbances advected downwind (westward) by the mean flow. Enhanced cloud–radiative effects further slow down upwind propagating waves and make them more prominent in the spectrum. On the other hand, the model suggests that interactions between moisture and convection favor the prominence of moist Kelvin-like waves in tropical variability at the expense of small-scale advective disturbances. These numerical results, consistent with theoretical predictions, suggest that the interaction of water vapor and cloud variations with convection and radiation plays an active role in the large-scale organization of the tropical atmosphere.

scholarly journals Thermodynamic Cycles in the Stratosphere

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. 1897-1912
Author(s):  
Paolo Ruggieri ◽  
Maarten H. P. Ambaum ◽  
Jonas Nycander
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Breaking Waves ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Thermodynamic Cycles ◽  
Circulation Cell ◽  
Thermally Driven

Abstract Large-scale overturning mass transport in the stratosphere is commonly explained through the action of potential vorticity (PV) rearrangement in the flank of the stratospheric jet. Large-scale Rossby waves, with their wave activity source primarily in the troposphere, stir and mix PV and an overturning circulation arises to compensate for the zonal torque imposed by the breaking waves. In this view, any radiative heating is relaxational and the circulation is mechanically driven. Here we present a fully thermodynamic analysis of these phenomena, based on ERA-Interim data. Streamfunctions in a thermodynamic, log(pressure)–temperature space are computed. The sign of a circulation cell in these coordinates directly shows whether it is mechanically driven, converting kinetic energy to potential and thermal energy, or thermally driven, with the opposite conversion. The circulation in the lower stratosphere is found to be thermodynamically indirect (i.e., mechanically driven). In the middle and upper stratosphere thermodynamically indirect and direct circulations coexist, with a prominent semiannual cycle. A part of the overturning in this region is thermally driven, while a more variable indirect circulation is mechanically driven by waves. The wave driving does not modulate the strength of the thermally direct part of the circulation. This suggests that the basic overturning circulation in the stratosphere is largely thermally driven, while tropospheric waves add a distinct indirect component to the overturning. This indirect overturning is associated with poleward transport of anomalously warm air parcels.

scholarly journals The Influence of Atmospheric Cloud Radiative Effects on the Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (18) ◽  
pp. 7263-7278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Li ◽  
David W. J. Thompson ◽  
Sandrine Bony
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
Radiative Effects ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Tropical Precipitation ◽  
Cloud Radiative Effects ◽  
Large Scale Atmospheric Circulation

Abstract The influence of clouds on the large-scale atmospheric circulation is examined in numerical simulations from an atmospheric general circulation model run with and without atmospheric cloud radiative effects (ACRE). In the extratropics of both hemispheres, the primary impacts of ACRE on the circulation include 1) increases in the meridional temperature gradient and decreases in static stability in the midlatitude upper troposphere, 2) strengthening of the midlatitude jet, 3) increases in extratropical eddy kinetic energy by up to 30%, and 4) increases in precipitation at middle latitudes but decreases at subtropical latitudes. In the tropics, the primary impacts of ACRE include 1) eastward wind anomalies in the tropical upper troposphere–lower stratosphere (UTLS) and 2) reductions in tropical precipitation. The impacts of ACRE on the atmospheric circulation are interpreted in the context of a series of dynamical and physical processes. The changes in the extratropical circulation and precipitation are consistent with the influence of ACRE on the baroclinicity and eddy fluxes of momentum in the extratropical upper troposphere, the changes in the zonal wind in the UTLS with the influence of ACRE on the amplitude of the equatorial planetary waves, and the changes in the tropical precipitation with the energetic constraints on the tropical troposphere. The results make clear that ACRE have a pronounced influence on the atmospheric circulation not only at tropical latitudes, but at extratropical latitudes as well. They highlight the critical importance of correctly simulating ACRE in global climate models.

scholarly journals An assessment of macrophysical and microphysical cloud properties driving radiative forcing of shallow trade-wind clouds

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Elizabeth Luebke ◽  
André Ehrlich ◽  
Michael Schäfer ◽  
Kevin Wolf ◽  
Manfred Wendisch
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Cloud Fraction ◽  
Trade Wind ◽  
Radiative Effects ◽  
Liquid Water Path ◽  
Microphysical Properties ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Cloud Radiative Effects

Abstract. The clouds in the Atlantic trade-wind region are known to have an important role in the global climate system. Acquiring a comprehensive characterization of these clouds based on observations is a challenge, but it is a necessary piece of information for the evaluation of their representation in models. An exploration of how the macrophysical and microphysical cloud properties and organization of the cloud field impact the large-scale cloud radiative forcing is presented here. Direct measurements of the cloud radiative effects from the Broadband AirCrAft RaDiometer Instrumentation (BACARDI) on board the High Altitude and LOng Range Research Aircraft (HALO) and cloud observations from the GOES-16 satellite during the Elucidating the role of clouds-circulation coupling in climate (EUREC4A) campaign provide evidence to demonstrate what drives the cloud radiative effects in shallow trade-wind clouds. We find that the solar and terrestrial radiative effects of these clouds are largely driven by their macrophysical properties (cloud fraction and a scene-averaged liquid water path). However, we also conclude that the microphysical properties, cloud top height and the organization of the cloud field demonstrate an increasing relevance in determining the cloud radiative effects as the cloud fraction increases.

scholarly journals Thermodynamic cycles in the stratosphere

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Nycander ◽  
Paolo Ruggieri ◽  
Maarten Ambaum
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Breaking Waves ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Thermodynamic Cycles ◽  
Circulation Cell ◽  
Thermally Driven

<p>Large-scale overturning mass transport in the stratosphere is commonly explained through the action of potential vorticity (PV) rearrangement in the flank of the stratospheric jet. Large-scale Rossby waves, with their wave activity source primarily in the troposphere, stir and mix PV and an overturning circulation arises to compensate for the zonal torque imposed by the breaking waves. In this view, any radiative heating is relaxational and the circulation is mechanically driven. Here we present a fully thermodynamic analysis of these phenomena, based on ERA-Interim data. Streamfunctions in a thermodynamic, log(pressure) – temperature space are computed. The sign of a circulation cell in these coordinates directly shows whether it is mechanically driven, converting kinetic energy to potential and thermal energy, or thermally driven, with the opposite conversion. The circulation in the lower stratosphere is found to be thermodynamically indirect (i.e., mechanically driven). In the middle and upper stratosphere thermodynamically indirect and direct circulations coexist, with a prominent semiannual cycle. A part of the overturning in this region is thermally driven, while a more variable indirect circulation is mechanically driven by waves. The wave driving does not modulate the strength of the thermally direct part of the circulation. This suggests that the basic overturning circulation in the stratosphere is largely thermally driven, while tropospheric waves add a distinct indirect component to the overturning. This indirect overturning is associated with poleward transport of anomalously warm air parcels.</p>

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