Observational determination of surface radiative forcing by CO2 from 2000 to 2010
The climatic impact of CO2 and other greenhouse gases is usually quantified in terms of radiative forcing, calculated as the difference between estimates of the Earth's radiation field from pre-industrial and present-day concentrations of these gases. Radiative transfer models calculate that th...
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt3428v1r6 2024-01-07T09:45:23+01:00 Observational determination of surface radiative forcing by CO2 from 2000 to 2010 Feldman, DR Collins, WD Gero, PJ Torn, MS Mlawer, EJ Shippert, TR 339 - 343 2015-03-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3428v1r6 unknown eScholarship, University of California qt3428v1r6 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3428v1r6 public Nature, vol 519, iss 7543 Earth Sciences Atmospheric Sciences Climate Action Alaska Atmosphere Carbon Dioxide Cell Respiration Greenhouse Effect Infrared Rays Models Theoretical Observation Photosynthesis Seasons Time Factors General Science & Technology article 2015 ftcdlib 2023-12-11T19:07:47Z The climatic impact of CO2 and other greenhouse gases is usually quantified in terms of radiative forcing, calculated as the difference between estimates of the Earth's radiation field from pre-industrial and present-day concentrations of these gases. Radiative transfer models calculate that the increase in CO2 since 1750 corresponds to a global annual-mean radiative forcing at the tropopause of 1.82±0.19Wm(-2) (ref. 2). However, despite widespread scientific discussion and modelling of the climate impacts of well-mixed greenhouse gases, there is little direct observational evidence of the radiative impact of increasing atmospheric CO2. Here we present observationally based evidence of clear-sky CO2 surface radiative forcing that is directly attributable to the increase, between 2000 and 2010, of 22 parts per million atmospheric CO2. The time series of this forcing at the two locations-the Southern Great Plains and the North Slope of Alaska-are derived from Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer spectra together with ancillary measurements and thoroughly corroborated radiative transfer calculations. The time series both show statistically significant trends of 0.2Wm(-2) per decade (with respective uncertainties of ±0.06Wm(-2) per decade and ±0.07Wm(-2) per decade) and have seasonal ranges of 0.1-0.2Wm(-2). This is approximately ten per cent of the trend in downwelling longwave radiation. These results confirm theoretical predictions of the atmospheric greenhouse effect due to anthropogenic emissions, and provide empirical evidence of how rising CO2 levels, mediated by temporal variations due to photosynthesis and respiration, are affecting the surface energy balance. Article in Journal/Newspaper north slope Alaska University of California: eScholarship |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Earth Sciences Atmospheric Sciences Climate Action Alaska Atmosphere Carbon Dioxide Cell Respiration Greenhouse Effect Infrared Rays Models Theoretical Observation Photosynthesis Seasons Time Factors General Science & Technology |
spellingShingle |
Earth Sciences Atmospheric Sciences Climate Action Alaska Atmosphere Carbon Dioxide Cell Respiration Greenhouse Effect Infrared Rays Models Theoretical Observation Photosynthesis Seasons Time Factors General Science & Technology Feldman, DR Collins, WD Gero, PJ Torn, MS Mlawer, EJ Shippert, TR Observational determination of surface radiative forcing by CO2 from 2000 to 2010 |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences Atmospheric Sciences Climate Action Alaska Atmosphere Carbon Dioxide Cell Respiration Greenhouse Effect Infrared Rays Models Theoretical Observation Photosynthesis Seasons Time Factors General Science & Technology |
description |
The climatic impact of CO2 and other greenhouse gases is usually quantified in terms of radiative forcing, calculated as the difference between estimates of the Earth's radiation field from pre-industrial and present-day concentrations of these gases. Radiative transfer models calculate that the increase in CO2 since 1750 corresponds to a global annual-mean radiative forcing at the tropopause of 1.82±0.19Wm(-2) (ref. 2). However, despite widespread scientific discussion and modelling of the climate impacts of well-mixed greenhouse gases, there is little direct observational evidence of the radiative impact of increasing atmospheric CO2. Here we present observationally based evidence of clear-sky CO2 surface radiative forcing that is directly attributable to the increase, between 2000 and 2010, of 22 parts per million atmospheric CO2. The time series of this forcing at the two locations-the Southern Great Plains and the North Slope of Alaska-are derived from Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer spectra together with ancillary measurements and thoroughly corroborated radiative transfer calculations. The time series both show statistically significant trends of 0.2Wm(-2) per decade (with respective uncertainties of ±0.06Wm(-2) per decade and ±0.07Wm(-2) per decade) and have seasonal ranges of 0.1-0.2Wm(-2). This is approximately ten per cent of the trend in downwelling longwave radiation. These results confirm theoretical predictions of the atmospheric greenhouse effect due to anthropogenic emissions, and provide empirical evidence of how rising CO2 levels, mediated by temporal variations due to photosynthesis and respiration, are affecting the surface energy balance. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Feldman, DR Collins, WD Gero, PJ Torn, MS Mlawer, EJ Shippert, TR |
author_facet |
Feldman, DR Collins, WD Gero, PJ Torn, MS Mlawer, EJ Shippert, TR |
author_sort |
Feldman, DR |
title |
Observational determination of surface radiative forcing by CO2 from 2000 to 2010 |
title_short |
Observational determination of surface radiative forcing by CO2 from 2000 to 2010 |
title_full |
Observational determination of surface radiative forcing by CO2 from 2000 to 2010 |
title_fullStr |
Observational determination of surface radiative forcing by CO2 from 2000 to 2010 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observational determination of surface radiative forcing by CO2 from 2000 to 2010 |
title_sort |
observational determination of surface radiative forcing by co2 from 2000 to 2010 |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3428v1r6 |
op_coverage |
339 - 343 |
genre |
north slope Alaska |
genre_facet |
north slope Alaska |
op_source |
Nature, vol 519, iss 7543 |
op_relation |
qt3428v1r6 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3428v1r6 |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1787426915144957952 |