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The spectroscopic foundation of radiative forcing of climate by carbon dioxide

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068837· OSTI ID:1470998
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [7]
  1. NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA (United States); DOE/OSTI
  2. NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA (United States)
  3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  4. Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Lexington, MA (United States)
  5. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
  6. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States)
  7. Science Systems and Applications, Inc., Hampton, VA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
The radiative forcing (RF) of carbon dioxide (CO2) is the leading contribution to climate change from anthropogenic activities. Calculating CO2 RF requires detailed knowledge of spectral line parameters for thousands of infrared absorption lines. A reliable spectroscopic characterization of CO2 forcing is critical to scientific and policy assessments of present climate and climate change. Our results show that CO2 RF in a variety of atmospheres is remarkably insensitive to known uncertainties in the three main CO2 spectroscopic parameters: the line shapes, line strengths, and half widths. We specifically examine uncertainty in RF due to line mixing as this process is critical in determining line shapes in the far wings of CO2 absorption lines. RF computed with a Voigt line shape is also examined. Overall, the spectroscopic uncertainty in present-day CO2 RF is less than 1%, indicating a robust foundation in our understanding of how rising CO2 warms the climate system.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1470998
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 43; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (2)

Radiative forcing of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide: A significant revision of the methane radiative forcing: Greenhouse Gas Radiative Forcing journal December 2016
Reducing uncertainties in climate models journal July 2018

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