DOI 10.1007/s00382-007-0363-5 Response of the tropical Pacific to changes in extratropical clouds
Abstract A decrease in cloud cover over higher latitudes—a decrease in the extratropical albedo—especially over the Southern Ocean, can result in an extratropical and tropical warming with the intensity of the equatorial cold tongues in the Pacific and Atlantic basins decreasing. These results, obta...
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ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.144.1236 2023-05-15T18:25:34+02:00 DOI 10.1007/s00382-007-0363-5 Response of the tropical Pacific to changes in extratropical clouds M. Barreiro S. G. Philander The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives application/pdf http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.144.1236 http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/reference/bibliography/2008/mrb0802.pdf en eng http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.144.1236 http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/reference/bibliography/2008/mrb0802.pdf Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/reference/bibliography/2008/mrb0802.pdf text ftciteseerx 2016-01-07T15:04:08Z Abstract A decrease in cloud cover over higher latitudes—a decrease in the extratropical albedo—especially over the Southern Ocean, can result in an extratropical and tropical warming with the intensity of the equatorial cold tongues in the Pacific and Atlantic basins decreasing. These results, obtained by means of a coupled ocean–atmosphere model of intermediate complexity that allow the prescription of atmospheric cloud cover, are relevant to future global warming, and also to conditions during the Pliocene some 3 million years ago. The mechanisms responsible for the response of the tropics to changes in the extra-tropics include atmospheric and oceanic connections. This tropical adjustment can be interpreted from the constraint of a balanced heat budget for the ocean: A change in the albedo of the Southern Hemisphere causes the ocean to lose less heat there, so that it has to gain less heat in the tropics. As a consequence the cold tongues are reduced, particularly in the eastern Pacific where a decrease in the zonal tilt of the equatorial thermocline significantly weakens the east-west sea surface temperature gradient. The total adjustment time scale of the equatorial Pacific to the extratropical perturbation is of the order of interdecadal to centennial time scales, and thus represents a new mechanism of rapid climate change. Text Southern Ocean Unknown Pacific Southern Ocean |
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Abstract A decrease in cloud cover over higher latitudes—a decrease in the extratropical albedo—especially over the Southern Ocean, can result in an extratropical and tropical warming with the intensity of the equatorial cold tongues in the Pacific and Atlantic basins decreasing. These results, obtained by means of a coupled ocean–atmosphere model of intermediate complexity that allow the prescription of atmospheric cloud cover, are relevant to future global warming, and also to conditions during the Pliocene some 3 million years ago. The mechanisms responsible for the response of the tropics to changes in the extra-tropics include atmospheric and oceanic connections. This tropical adjustment can be interpreted from the constraint of a balanced heat budget for the ocean: A change in the albedo of the Southern Hemisphere causes the ocean to lose less heat there, so that it has to gain less heat in the tropics. As a consequence the cold tongues are reduced, particularly in the eastern Pacific where a decrease in the zonal tilt of the equatorial thermocline significantly weakens the east-west sea surface temperature gradient. The total adjustment time scale of the equatorial Pacific to the extratropical perturbation is of the order of interdecadal to centennial time scales, and thus represents a new mechanism of rapid climate change. |
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The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives |
format |
Text |
author |
M. Barreiro S. G. Philander |
spellingShingle |
M. Barreiro S. G. Philander DOI 10.1007/s00382-007-0363-5 Response of the tropical Pacific to changes in extratropical clouds |
author_facet |
M. Barreiro S. G. Philander |
author_sort |
M. Barreiro |
title |
DOI 10.1007/s00382-007-0363-5 Response of the tropical Pacific to changes in extratropical clouds |
title_short |
DOI 10.1007/s00382-007-0363-5 Response of the tropical Pacific to changes in extratropical clouds |
title_full |
DOI 10.1007/s00382-007-0363-5 Response of the tropical Pacific to changes in extratropical clouds |
title_fullStr |
DOI 10.1007/s00382-007-0363-5 Response of the tropical Pacific to changes in extratropical clouds |
title_full_unstemmed |
DOI 10.1007/s00382-007-0363-5 Response of the tropical Pacific to changes in extratropical clouds |
title_sort |
doi 10.1007/s00382-007-0363-5 response of the tropical pacific to changes in extratropical clouds |
url |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.144.1236 http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/reference/bibliography/2008/mrb0802.pdf |
geographic |
Pacific Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Pacific Southern Ocean |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_source |
http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/reference/bibliography/2008/mrb0802.pdf |
op_relation |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.144.1236 http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/reference/bibliography/2008/mrb0802.pdf |
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Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. |
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