Vegetation-induced asymmetric diurnal land surface temperatures changes across global climate zones

Journal Article · Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Science of the Total Environment

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165255· OSTI ID:1997219

Yu, Lingxue ^[1]; Liu, Ye ^[2]; Li, Xuan ^[1]; Yan, Fengqin ^[3]; Lyne, Vincent ^[4]; Liu, Tingxiang ^[5]

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1. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Changchun (China)
2. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
3. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China)
4. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China); University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS (Australia)
5. Changchun Normal Universiy (China)

Unprecedented global vegetation greening during past decades is well known to affect annual and seasonal land surface temperatures (LST). However, the impact of observed vegetation cover change on diurnal LST across global climatic zones is not well understood. In this study, using global climatic time-series datasets, we investigated the long-term growing season daytime and nighttime LST changes globally and explored associated dominant contributors including vegetation and climate factors including air temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation. Results revealed asymmetric growing season mean daytime and nighttime LST warming (0.16 °C/10a and 0.30 °C/10a, respectively) globally from 2003 to 2020, as a result, the diurnal LST range (DLSTR) declined at 0.14 °C/10a. The sensitivity analysis indicated the LST response to changes in LAI, precipitation, and SSRD mainly concentrated during daytime instead of nighttime, however, which showed comparable sensitivities for air temperature. Combining the sensitivities results and the observed LAI and climate trends, we found rising air temperature contributes to 0.24 ± 0.11 °C/10a global daytime LST warming and 0.16 ± 0.07 °C/10a nighttime LST warming, turns to be the dominant contributor to the LST changes. Increased LAI cooled global daytime LST (–0.068 ± 0.096 °C/10a) while warmed nighttime LST (0.064 ± 0.046 °C/10a); hence LAI dominates declines in DLSTR trends (–0.12 ± 0.08 °C/10a), despite some daynight process variations across climate zones. In Boreal regions, reduced DLSTR was due to nighttime warming from LAI increases. In other climatic zones, daytime cooling, and DLSTR decline, was induced by increased LAI. Biophysically, the pathway from air temperature heats the surface through sensible heat and increased downward longwave radiation during day and night, while the pathway from LAI cools the surface by enhancing energy redistribution into latent heat rather than sensible heat during the daytime. These empirical findings of diverse asymmetric responses could help calibrate and improve biophysical models of diurnal surface temperature feedback in response to vegetation cover changes in different climate zones.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1997219
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-188769
• Journal Information: Science of the Total Environment, Journal Name: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 896; ISSN 0048-9697
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Climate change
Diurnal temperature asymmetry
Diurnal temperature cycle
Global vegetation greening
Global warming