Remote Drying in the North Atlantic as a Common Response to Precessional Changes and CO2 Increase Over Land
Abstract
In this study, we demonstrate that changes of the North Atlantic subtropical high and its regional rainfall pattern during mid-Holocene precessional changes and idealized 4xCO2 increase can both be understood as a remote response to increased land heating near North Africa. Despite different sources and patterns of radiative forcing (increase in CO2 concentration versus changes in orbital parameters), we find that the pattern of energy, circulation, and rainfall responses in the Northern Hemisphere summer subtropics are remarkably similar in the two forcing scenarios because both are dominated by the same land-sea heating contrast in response to the forcing. An increase in energy input over arid land drives a westward displacement of the coupled North Atlantic subtropical high-monsoon circulation, consistent with increased precipitation in the Afro-Asia region and decreased precipitation in the America-Atlantic region. This study underscores the importance of land heating in dictating remote drying through zonal shifts of the subtropical circulation.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[1];
[1];
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities Division
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1434667
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1433289
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-131183
Journal ID: ISSN 0094-8276
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830; AC02-05CH11231; E-AC02-05CH11231
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 45; Journal Issue: 8; Journal ID: ISSN 0094-8276
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Citation Formats
Kelly, Patrick, Kravitz, Ben, Lu, Jian, and Leung, L. Ruby. Remote Drying in the North Atlantic as a Common Response to Precessional Changes and CO2 Increase Over Land. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1002/2017GL076669.
Kelly, Patrick, Kravitz, Ben, Lu, Jian, & Leung, L. Ruby. Remote Drying in the North Atlantic as a Common Response to Precessional Changes and CO2 Increase Over Land. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076669
Kelly, Patrick, Kravitz, Ben, Lu, Jian, and Leung, L. Ruby. Mon .
"Remote Drying in the North Atlantic as a Common Response to Precessional Changes and CO2 Increase Over Land". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076669. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1434667.
@article{osti_1434667,
title = {Remote Drying in the North Atlantic as a Common Response to Precessional Changes and CO2 Increase Over Land},
author = {Kelly, Patrick and Kravitz, Ben and Lu, Jian and Leung, L. Ruby},
abstractNote = {In this study, we demonstrate that changes of the North Atlantic subtropical high and its regional rainfall pattern during mid-Holocene precessional changes and idealized 4xCO2 increase can both be understood as a remote response to increased land heating near North Africa. Despite different sources and patterns of radiative forcing (increase in CO2 concentration versus changes in orbital parameters), we find that the pattern of energy, circulation, and rainfall responses in the Northern Hemisphere summer subtropics are remarkably similar in the two forcing scenarios because both are dominated by the same land-sea heating contrast in response to the forcing. An increase in energy input over arid land drives a westward displacement of the coupled North Atlantic subtropical high-monsoon circulation, consistent with increased precipitation in the Afro-Asia region and decreased precipitation in the America-Atlantic region. This study underscores the importance of land heating in dictating remote drying through zonal shifts of the subtropical circulation.},
doi = {10.1002/2017GL076669},
journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
number = 8,
volume = 45,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Apr 16 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Mon Apr 16 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
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Works referencing / citing this record:
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