Interpretation of cloud-climate feedback as produced by 14 atmospheric general circulation models

Journal Article · Fri Aug 04 04:00:00 EDT 1989 · Science (Washington, D.C.); (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.245.4917.513· OSTI ID:6997439

Cess, R D ^[1]; Potter, G L; Ghan, S J; Taylor, K E ^[2]; Blanchet, J P; Boer, G J ^[3]; Kiehl, J T; Slingo, A; Washington, W M ^[4]; Le Treut, H; Li, Z X ^[5]; Liang, X Z ^[6]; Mitchell, J F.B. ^[7]; Morcrette, J J ^[8]; Randall, D A ^[9]; Riches, M R ^[10]; Roeckner, E; Schlese, U ^[11]; Wetherald, R T ^[12]; Yagai, I ^[13]

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1. State Univ. of New York, Stony Brook (USA)
2. Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
3. Canadian Climate Centre, Downsview, Ontario (Canada)
4. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (USA)
5. Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique, Paris (France)
6. Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Beijing (China)
7. United Kingdom Meteorological Office, Berkshire (England)
8. European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Berkshire (England)
9. Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins (USA)
10. Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC (USA)
11. Univ. of Hamburg (Germany, F.R.)
12. Princeton Univ., NJ (USA)
13. Meteorological Research Institute of Japan, Ibaraki-Ken (Japan)

Understanding the cause of differences among general circulation model projections of carbon dioxide-induced climatic change is a necessary step toward improving the models. An intercomparison of 14 atmospheric general circulation models, for which sea surface temperature perturbations were used as a surrogate climate change, showed that there was a roughly threefold variation in global climate sensitivity. Most of this variation is attributable to differences in the models depictions of cloud-climate feedback, a result that emphasizes the need for improvements in the treatment of clouds in these models if they are ultimately to be used as climatic predictors. 14 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.

• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 6997439
• Journal Information: Science (Washington, D.C.); (USA), Journal Name: Science (Washington, D.C.); (USA) Vol. 245:4917; ISSN SCIEA; ISSN 0036-8075
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540110*
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
CLOUDS
DATA
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
INFORMATION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS