The influence of regional feedbacks on circulation sensitivity
- Creators
- Feldl, N.
- Frierson, D. M. W.
- Roe, G. H.
Abstract
Weakening of the tropical overturning circulation in a warmer world is a robust feature in climate models. Here an idealized representation of ocean heat flux drives a Walker cell in an aquaplanet simulation. A goal of the study is to assess the influence of the Walker circulation on the magnitude and structure of climate feedbacks, as well as to global sensitivity. We compare two CO_2 perturbation experiments, one with and one without a Walker circulation, to isolate the differences attributable to tropical circulation and associated zonal asymmetries. For an imposed Walker circulation, the subtropical shortwave cloud feedback is reduced, which manifests as a weaker tropical-subtropical anomalous energy gradient and consequently a weaker slow down of the Hadley circulation, relative to the case without a Walker circulation. By focusing on the coupled feedback circulation system, these results offer insights into understanding changes in atmospheric circulation and hence the hydrological cycle under global warming.
Additional Information
© 2014 American Geophysical Union. Received 20 Jan. 2014 Accepted 27 Feb. 2014 Accepted article online 3 Mar. 2014 Published online 24 Mar. 2014 We thank David Battisti and Simona Bordoni for discussions, two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments, and the editor. N.F. was supported by the Foster and Coco Stanback Postdoctoral Fellowship. The Editor thanks Alexandra Jonko and an anonymous reviewer for their assistance in evaluating this paper.Attached Files
Published - grl51500.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 45940
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20140528-125933189
- Foster and Coco Stanback Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Created
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2014-05-28Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field