Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010agufm.a11j..04d&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2010, abstract #A11J-04
Physics
[1620] Global Change / Climate Dynamics, [3319] Atmospheric Processes / General Circulation, [3337] Atmospheric Processes / Global Climate Models, [3359] Atmospheric Processes / Radiative Processes
Scientific paper
The meridional distribution of incident solar radiation and planetary albedo both contribute to the equator-to-pole gradient in absorbed solar radiation (ASR) in the observed climate system. While the former component is determined by the Earth-Sun geometry and composes 60% of the equator-to-pole gradient in ASR, the latter component makes a significant (40%) contribution to the ASR gradient and is potentially a function of climate state due to its dependence on both atmospheric and surface albedo. In turn, the equator-to-pole gradient in planetary albedo is found to be primarily (86% -89%) dictated by atmospheric albedo with meridional gradients in surface albedo playing a much smaller role in forcing the climate system on the equator-to-pole scale. Simulations of the pre-industrial climate system using the CMIP3 coupled models show large differences in the equator-to-pole gradient in planetary albedo which are mainly due to differences in the simulated cloud distribution, with surface processes playing a much smaller role. The inter-model spread in total meridional heat transport is also primarily (85% of the inter-model spread) due to differences in the simulated cloud distribution. Further model simulations demonstrate that the surface albedo changes associated with moving from the present climate to an ice free climate have a small effect on the equator-to-pole gradient of ASR as compared to the uncertainty in simulated cloud distributions, and hence a small effect on the meridional heat transport.
Battisti David S.
Donohoe A.
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