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Impact of Asian aerosol forcing on tropical Pacific circulation and the relationship to global temperature trends
Author(s) -
Kuntz L. B.,
Schrag D. P.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8996
pISSN - 2169-897X
DOI - 10.1002/2016jd025430
Subject(s) - trade wind , climatology , forcing (mathematics) , aerosol , radiative forcing , walker circulation , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , circulation (fluid dynamics) , general circulation model , east asia , atmospheric circulation , sea surface temperature , oceanography , geography , climate change , geology , meteorology , physics , archaeology , china , thermodynamics
The recent slowdown in the warming of global surface temperatures has been linked to the enhancement of trade winds in the central equatorial Pacific. The possible role of Asian aerosol emissions in forcing these wind anomalies is investigated through a series of idealized model simulations. Circulation patterns in response to localized negative radiative perturbations, indicative of aerosol effects, are investigated for both a slab and an active ocean models. The results suggest that Asian aerosols cannot explain the recent intensification of trade wind anomalies in the equatorial Pacific.