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Title: Radiative flux and forcing parameterization error in aerosol-free clear skies

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL064291· OSTI ID:1342521
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6]; ORCiD logo [6];  [2];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [7];  [10];  [11];  [12];  [13];  [11]
  1. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); NOAA/Earth System Research Lab., Boulder, CO (United States)
  2. Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Lexington, MA (United States)
  3. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States)
  4. Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, NY (United States)
  5. Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris (France); Korea Institute of Atmospheric Prediction Systems, Seoul (Korea)
  6. Univ. of Hamburg, Hamburg (Germany)
  7. Canadian Center Climate Modelling and Analysis, Environment Canada, Victoria, BC (Canada)
  8. Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris (France)
  9. Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, NY (United States); Trinnovim LLC, New York, NY (United States)
  10. Met Office, Exeter (United Kingdom)
  11. NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab., Princeton, NJ (United States)
  12. Centre National de Recherches Meteorologiques-GAME, Toulouse (France)
  13. Tokyo Univ. of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo (Japan)
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This article reports on the accuracy in aerosol- and cloud-free conditions of the radiation parameterizations used in climate models. Accuracy is assessed relative to observationally validated reference models for fluxes under present-day conditions and forcing (flux changes) from quadrupled concentrations of carbon dioxide. Agreement among reference models is typically within 1 W/m2, while parameterized calculations are roughly half as accurate in the longwave and even less accurate, and more variable, in the shortwave. Absorption of shortwave radiation is underestimated by most parameterizations in the present day and has relatively large errors in forcing. Error in present-day conditions is essentially unrelated to error in forcing calculations. Recent revisions to parameterizations have reduced error in most cases. As a result, a dependence on atmospheric conditions, including integrated water vapor, means that global estimates of parameterization error relevant for the radiative forcing of climate change will require much more ambitious calculations.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc., Lexington, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012549; SC0012399
OSTI ID:
1342521
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 42, Issue 13; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 48 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (11)

The cloud-free global energy balance and inferred cloud radiative effects: an assessment based on direct observations and climate models journal August 2018
Eta model simulations using two radiation schemes in clear-sky conditions journal January 2017
Analysis of Water Vapor Absorption in the Far‐Infrared and Submillimeter Regions Using Surface Radiometric Measurements From Extremely Dry Locations journal July 2019
Low clouds link equilibrium climate sensitivity to hydrological sensitivity journal September 2018
Resolving Orbital and Climate Keys of Earth and Extraterrestrial Environments with Dynamics (ROCKE-3D) 1.0: A General Circulation Model for Simulating the Climates of Rocky Planets journal July 2017
The Palaeoclimate and Terrestrial Exoplanet Radiative Transfer Model Intercomparison Project (PALAEOTRIP): experimental design and protocols journal January 2017
ARTS, the Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Simulator – version 2.2, the planetary toolbox edition journal January 2018
The Met Office Unified Model Global Atmosphere 7.0/7.1 and JULES Global Land 7.0 configurations journal January 2019
The Radiative Forcing Model Intercomparison Project (RFMIP): experimental protocol for CMIP6 journal January 2016
The cloud-free global energy balance and inferred cloud radiative effects: an assessment based on direct observations and climate models text January 2019
Fast and slow shifts of the zonal-mean intertropical convergence zone in response to an idealized anthropogenic aerosol text January 2017

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