Open AccessClimatic responses to tropical sea surface temperature changes on a “greenhouse” Earth
Author(s) -
Huber Matthew,
Sloan L. Cirbus
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
paleoceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1944-9186
pISSN - 0883-8305
DOI - 10.1029/1999pa000455
Subject(s) - climatology , subtropics , sea surface temperature , upwelling , environmental science , climate change , greenhouse effect , tropics , tropical climate , tropical atlantic , general circulation model , greenhouse gas , atmospheric sciences , climate model , global warming , geology , oceanography , geography , ecology , archaeology , biology
The uncertainty associated with tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) during past “greenhouse” climates may have important and unaccounted for effects. We explore early Paleogene climatic sensitivity to changes in tropical‐subtropical SSTs with a general circulation model. We demonstrate that tropical SST changes have local and far‐field climatic effects, underscoring their importance in understanding greenhouse climates. The responses of winds, upwelling, and surface water balance to tropical SST changes are substantial. Our results indicate that current tropical SST reconstructions may have a significant cool bias despite corrections and that the existence of hot (>30°C) tropical SSTs may be realistic for greenhouse climate intervals, including the Eocene.