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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 7, NUMBER 5, MAY 1994

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS... EARTH RADIATION BUDGET

Specialized papers on this topic appear in a separate section in this issue.

Item #d94may16

"Observed Dependence of Outgoing Longwave Radiation [OLR] on Sea Surface Temperature and Moisture," A. Raval (GFDL, POB 308, Princeton NJ 08542), A.H. Oort, V. Ramaswamy, J. Clim., 7(5), 807-821, May 1994.

Suggests that the observed dependence (based on four years of ERBE data) be a minimum performance standard for climate models. Illustrates this approach using GCM output.

Item #d94may17

"Approaches of Comparison for Clear-Sky Radiative Fluxes from General Circulation Models with Earth Radiation Budget Experiment Data," M.H. Zhang (Inst. Terr. Atmos., State Univ. of New York, Stoney Brook NY 11794), R.D. Cess et al., J. Geophys. Res., 99(D3), 5515-5523, Mar. 20, 1994.

Discusses problems associated with the available methods for clear-sky radiative flux computations in GCMs; proposes a new approach based on statistical relationships derived from ERBE data.

Item #d94may18

"Aqueous Greenhouse Species in Clouds, Fogs and Aerosols," N.A. Marley, J.S. Gaffney (Bldg. 203, Argonne Natl. Lab., Argonne IL 60439), M.M. Cunningham, Environ. Sci. Technol., 27(13), 2864-2869, Dec. 1993.

Describes measurements of water-soluble infrared absorbers that can contribute to the long-wave radiation forcing of clouds, fogs and aerosols. Discusses relative effects on radiative forcing.

Item #d94may19

"An Investigation of the Global Solar Radiative Forcing Due to Changes in Cloud Liquid Water Path [LWP]," V. Ramaswamy (Atmos. Sci. Prog., Princeton Univ., Princeton NJ 08542), J. Geophys. Res., 98(D9), 16,703-16,712, Sep. 20, 1993.

Examines the significant space-time dependence of forcing associated with the change in the LWP of low clouds due to variations in insolation, solar zenith angle and surface albedo. Although a specific globally uniform LWP increase can yield a global, annual mean radiative forcing that is opposite to but of the same magnitude as that for CO2 increases, such a compensation in the forcing cannot be expected to be uniform with latitude or month.

Item #d94may20

"Climate Implications of Observed Changes in Ozone Vertical Distributions at Middle and High Latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere," W.-C. Wang (Atmos. Sci. Res. Ctr., 100 Fuller Rd., Albany NY 12205), Y.-C. Zhuang, R.D. Bojkov, Geophys. Res. Lett., 20(15), 1567-1570, Aug. 6, 1993.

Examination of soundings over the past few decades suggests that changes in the vertical distribution of ozone could have produced a substantial warming in the middle latitude troposphere comparable to the influence of other greenhouse gases.

Item #d94may21

"Infrared Radiation Parameterizations for the Minor CO2 Bands and for Several CFC Bands in the Window Region," D.P. Kratz (Lockheed Co., 144 Research Dr., Hampton VA 23666), M.-D. Chou, M.-H. Yan, J. Clim., 6(7), 1269-1281, July 1993.

Presents fast, accurate parameterizations and applies them to the IPCC low emissions "B" scenario using a zonally averaged multilayer energy balance model. Collectively, the minor absorption bands account for 40-45% of the total surface temperature increases.

Item #d94may22

"Intercomparison of Observed Cloud Radiative Forcing: A Zonal and Global Perspective," B.-J. Sohn, F. R. Robertson (NASA Marshall Space Flight Ctr., Huntsville AL 35812), Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 74(6), 997-1006, June 1993.

Compares three methods for estimating the annual, global mean of cloud radiative forcing, using the same data source and analysis period. Differences in published values of net radiative forcing are mainly due to different data sources and analysis periods, but both longwave and shortwave forcing components show more dependence on the method used.

Item #d94may23

Two items in J. Clim., 6(5), May 1993:

"Observations of Seasonal Variations in Atmospheric Greenhouse Trapping and Its Enhancement at High Sea Surface Temperature," R. Hallberg (Sch. Oceanog., Univ. Washington, Seattle WA 98195), A.K. Inamdar, 920-931. Greenhouse trapping is larger in winter than in summer over temperate oceans, but the opposite is true in the tropics. At sea surface temperatures above about 298 K a "super" greenhouse effect occurs. Investigates the contributing processes.

"Uncertainties in Climatological Tropical Humidity Profiles: Some Implications for Estimating the Greenhouse Effect," D.S. Gutzler (Atmos. & Environ. Res. Inc., 840 Memorial Dr., Cambridge MA 02139), 978-982. Calculations show that the radiance uncertainty due to uncertainty in humidity measurements is comparable in magnitude to the purely radiative response of the tropical upper atmosphere to doubling CO2.

Item #d94may24

"The Nimbus Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) Experiment: 1975 to 1992," H.L. Kyle (NASA-Goddard, Greenbelt MD 20771), J.R. Hickey et al., Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 74(5), 815-830, May 1993.

A lengthy review of successes and lessons learned during the Nimbus ERB studies, and the compatibility of Nimbus and ERBE data.

Item #d94may25

"Carbon Dioxide and Climate: The Impact of Cloud Parameterization," C.A. Senior (Meteor. Office (H211), London Rd., Bracknell RG12 2SZ, UK), J.F.B. Mitchell, J. Clim., 6(3), 393-418, Mar. 1993.

Experiments with different parameterization schemes in the Hadley Center model lead to an estimate of 2.1-2.8·C for equilibrium response to doubled CO2.

Item #d94may26

"The Earth's Radiation Budget and Its Relation to Atmospheric Hydrology. 3. Comparison of Observations over the Oceans with a GCM," G.L. Stephens (Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins CO 80523), D.A. Randall et al., J. Geophys. Res., 98(D3), 4931-4950, Mar. 20, 1993.

Experiments suggest that current GCMs simulate the relationship between the radiation budget and moisture quite well, but serious quantitative problems include simulation of column vapor in the tropics and an excessive clear-sky greenhouse effect in mid-latitudes.

Item #d94may27

"A Two-Parameter Approximation in Cloudiness Variability Studies," O. Kärner (Inst. Atmos. Phys., Estonian Acad. Sci., 20244, Toravere, Estonia), S. Keevallik, P. Post, Atmos. Res., 27(4), 231-252, Feb. 1992.

Calculations show that cloud redistribution can have a stronger effect on climate than, for instance, CO2-doubling.