Seasonal Cycle of Idealized Polar Clouds: Large Eddy Simulations Driven by a GCM
The uncertainty in polar cloud feedbacks calls for process understanding of the cloud response to climate warming. As an initial step toward improved process understanding, we investigate the seasonal cycle of polar clouds in the current climate by adopting a novel modeling framework using large edd...
Published in: | Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems |
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Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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American Geophysical Union
2022
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Online Access: | https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/ https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/3/J%20Adv%20Model%20Earth%20Syst%20-%202021%20-%20Zhang%20-%20Seasonal%20Cycle%20of%20Idealized%20Polar%20Clouds%20%20Large%20Eddy%20Simulations%20Driven%20by%20a%20GCM.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/1/essoar.10503204.1.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/4/2021ms002671-sup-0001-supporting%20information%20si-s01.pdf https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20201027-125955966 |
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ftcaltechauth:oai:authors.library.caltech.edu:106301 2023-05-15T18:18:38+02:00 Seasonal Cycle of Idealized Polar Clouds: Large Eddy Simulations Driven by a GCM Zhang, Xiyue Schneider, Tapio Shen, Zhaoyi Pressel, Kyle G. Eisenman, Ian 2022-01 application/pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/ https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/3/J%20Adv%20Model%20Earth%20Syst%20-%202021%20-%20Zhang%20-%20Seasonal%20Cycle%20of%20Idealized%20Polar%20Clouds%20%20Large%20Eddy%20Simulations%20Driven%20by%20a%20GCM.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/1/essoar.10503204.1.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/4/2021ms002671-sup-0001-supporting%20information%20si-s01.pdf https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20201027-125955966 en eng American Geophysical Union https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/3/J%20Adv%20Model%20Earth%20Syst%20-%202021%20-%20Zhang%20-%20Seasonal%20Cycle%20of%20Idealized%20Polar%20Clouds%20%20Large%20Eddy%20Simulations%20Driven%20by%20a%20GCM.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/1/essoar.10503204.1.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/4/2021ms002671-sup-0001-supporting%20information%20si-s01.pdf Zhang, Xiyue and Schneider, Tapio and Shen, Zhaoyi and Pressel, Kyle G. and Eisenman, Ian (2022) Seasonal Cycle of Idealized Polar Clouds: Large Eddy Simulations Driven by a GCM. Journal of Advances in Modelling Earth Systems, 14 (1). Art. No. e2021MS002671. ISSN 1942-2466. doi:10.1029/2021MS002671. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20201027-125955966 <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20201027-125955966> cc_by_nc_nd CC-BY-NC-ND Article PeerReviewed 2022 ftcaltechauth https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002671 2022-01-27T18:44:01Z The uncertainty in polar cloud feedbacks calls for process understanding of the cloud response to climate warming. As an initial step toward improved process understanding, we investigate the seasonal cycle of polar clouds in the current climate by adopting a novel modeling framework using large eddy simulations (LES), which explicitly resolve cloud dynamics. Resolved horizontal and vertical advection of heat and moisture from an idealized general circulation model (GCM) are prescribed as forcing in the LES. The LES are also forced with prescribed sea ice thickness, but surface temperature, atmospheric temperature, and moisture evolve freely without nudging. A semigray radiative transfer scheme without water vapor and cloud feedbacks allows the GCM and LES to achieve closed energy budgets more easily than would be possible with more complex schemes. This enables the mean states in the two models to be consistently compared, without the added complications from interaction with more comprehensive radiation. We show that the LES closely follow the GCM seasonal cycle, and the seasonal cycle of low-level clouds in the LES resembles observations: maximum cloud liquid occurs in late summer and early autumn, and winter clouds are dominated by ice in the upper troposphere. Large-scale advection of moisture provides the main source of water vapor for the liquid-containing clouds in summer, while a temperature advection peak in winter makes the atmosphere relatively dry and reduces cloud condensate. The framework we develop and employ can be used broadly for studying cloud processes and the response of polar clouds to climate warming. Article in Journal/Newspaper Sea ice Caltech Authors (California Institute of Technology) Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems 14 1 |
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Open Polar |
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Caltech Authors (California Institute of Technology) |
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ftcaltechauth |
language |
English |
description |
The uncertainty in polar cloud feedbacks calls for process understanding of the cloud response to climate warming. As an initial step toward improved process understanding, we investigate the seasonal cycle of polar clouds in the current climate by adopting a novel modeling framework using large eddy simulations (LES), which explicitly resolve cloud dynamics. Resolved horizontal and vertical advection of heat and moisture from an idealized general circulation model (GCM) are prescribed as forcing in the LES. The LES are also forced with prescribed sea ice thickness, but surface temperature, atmospheric temperature, and moisture evolve freely without nudging. A semigray radiative transfer scheme without water vapor and cloud feedbacks allows the GCM and LES to achieve closed energy budgets more easily than would be possible with more complex schemes. This enables the mean states in the two models to be consistently compared, without the added complications from interaction with more comprehensive radiation. We show that the LES closely follow the GCM seasonal cycle, and the seasonal cycle of low-level clouds in the LES resembles observations: maximum cloud liquid occurs in late summer and early autumn, and winter clouds are dominated by ice in the upper troposphere. Large-scale advection of moisture provides the main source of water vapor for the liquid-containing clouds in summer, while a temperature advection peak in winter makes the atmosphere relatively dry and reduces cloud condensate. The framework we develop and employ can be used broadly for studying cloud processes and the response of polar clouds to climate warming. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Zhang, Xiyue Schneider, Tapio Shen, Zhaoyi Pressel, Kyle G. Eisenman, Ian |
spellingShingle |
Zhang, Xiyue Schneider, Tapio Shen, Zhaoyi Pressel, Kyle G. Eisenman, Ian Seasonal Cycle of Idealized Polar Clouds: Large Eddy Simulations Driven by a GCM |
author_facet |
Zhang, Xiyue Schneider, Tapio Shen, Zhaoyi Pressel, Kyle G. Eisenman, Ian |
author_sort |
Zhang, Xiyue |
title |
Seasonal Cycle of Idealized Polar Clouds: Large Eddy Simulations Driven by a GCM |
title_short |
Seasonal Cycle of Idealized Polar Clouds: Large Eddy Simulations Driven by a GCM |
title_full |
Seasonal Cycle of Idealized Polar Clouds: Large Eddy Simulations Driven by a GCM |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal Cycle of Idealized Polar Clouds: Large Eddy Simulations Driven by a GCM |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal Cycle of Idealized Polar Clouds: Large Eddy Simulations Driven by a GCM |
title_sort |
seasonal cycle of idealized polar clouds: large eddy simulations driven by a gcm |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/ https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/3/J%20Adv%20Model%20Earth%20Syst%20-%202021%20-%20Zhang%20-%20Seasonal%20Cycle%20of%20Idealized%20Polar%20Clouds%20%20Large%20Eddy%20Simulations%20Driven%20by%20a%20GCM.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/1/essoar.10503204.1.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/4/2021ms002671-sup-0001-supporting%20information%20si-s01.pdf https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20201027-125955966 |
genre |
Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Sea ice |
op_relation |
https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/3/J%20Adv%20Model%20Earth%20Syst%20-%202021%20-%20Zhang%20-%20Seasonal%20Cycle%20of%20Idealized%20Polar%20Clouds%20%20Large%20Eddy%20Simulations%20Driven%20by%20a%20GCM.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/1/essoar.10503204.1.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/106301/4/2021ms002671-sup-0001-supporting%20information%20si-s01.pdf Zhang, Xiyue and Schneider, Tapio and Shen, Zhaoyi and Pressel, Kyle G. and Eisenman, Ian (2022) Seasonal Cycle of Idealized Polar Clouds: Large Eddy Simulations Driven by a GCM. Journal of Advances in Modelling Earth Systems, 14 (1). Art. No. e2021MS002671. ISSN 1942-2466. doi:10.1029/2021MS002671. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20201027-125955966 <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20201027-125955966> |
op_rights |
cc_by_nc_nd |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC-ND |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002671 |
container_title |
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766195276926681088 |