Premium
Future regime shift in feedbacks during Arctic winter
Author(s) -
Miller James R.,
Chen Yonghua,
Russell Gary L.,
Francis Jennifer A.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2007gl031826
Subject(s) - cloud cover , environmental science , climatology , longwave , arctic , atmospheric sciences , climate change , the arctic , water vapor , climate model , cloud computing , meteorology , geography , geology , oceanography , computer science , physics , quantum mechanics , radiation , operating system
The Arctic is among the regions where climate is changing most rapidly today. Climate change is amplified by a variety of positive feedbacks, many of which are linked with changes in water vapor, cloud cover, and other cloud properties. We use a global climate model to examine several of these feedbacks, with a particular emphasis on determining whether there are significant temporal changes in these feedbacks that would make them stronger or weaker during the 21st century. The model results indicate that one of the significant positive feedbacks on Arctic surface air temperature in winter weakens substantially toward the end of the 21st century. The feedback loop begins with a temperature increase that produces increases in water vapor, cloud cover, and cloud optical depth which increase the downward longwave flux by 30 Wm −2 by 2060 which then increases the surface air temperature.