Anthropogenic sulfate aerosol and the southward shift of tropical precipitation in the late 20th century

Hwang, Yen‐Ting; Frierson, Dargan M. W.; Kang, Sarah M.

doi:10.1002/grl.50502

Cited by 266Climate variability and modelsAtmospheric aerosols and cloudsClimate Change and Geoengineering

Anthropogenic sulfate aerosol and the southward shift of tropical precipitation in the late 20th century

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Hwang, Yen‐Ting, Frierson, Dargan M. W., Kang, Sarah M.·2013·Geophysical Research Letters

DOI 10.1002/grl.50502

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Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrate a global scale southward shift of the tropical rain belt during the latter half of the 20th century in observations and global climate models (GCMs). In rain gauge data, the southward shift maximizes in the 1980s and is associated with signals in Africa, Asia, and South America. A southward shift exists at a similar time in nearly all CMIP3 and CMIP5 historical simulations, and occurs on both land and ocean, although in most models the shifts are significantly less than in observations. Utilizing a theoretical framework based on atmospheric energetics, we perform an attribution of the zonal mean southward shift of precipitation across a large suite of CMIP3 and CMIP5 GCMs. Our results suggest that anthropogenic aerosol cooling of the Northern Hemisphere is the primary cause of the consistent southward shift across GCMs, although other processes affecting the atmospheric energy budget also contribute to the model‐to‐model spread.

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The clustering of extreme annual low stand values occurring during and following the Hrafnkatla episode may suggest a different, more persistent tropical hydroclimate response following prolonged volcanic emissions, as was the case during the 20th century which was dominated by anthropogenic sulfur emissions.
“The low flow following these short-lived high-latitude eruptions is of short duration (i.e., the year after the eruption), and therefore, the clustering of extreme annual low stand values occurring during and following the Hrafnkatla episode may suggest a different, more persistent tropical hydroclimate response following prolonged volcanic emissions as was the case during the 20th century which w”
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Authors: Hwang, Y., Frierson, D. M. W., & Kang, S. M.
Affiliations: University of Washington (US)
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
ORCID: Hwang, Yen‐Ting
Frierson, Dargan M. W.
Kang, Sarah M.
Venue: Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Published: 2013-06-07
Volume: 40
Issue: 11
Pages: 2845-2850
ISSN: 0094-8276 (ISSN-L)
1944-8007
DOI: 10.1002/grl.50502
OpenAlex: W1943776401
Cited by: 266
References: 40
Citations by year: 2026: 7 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 2
FWCI: 17.29
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
www.osti.gov
Licence: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations: Geophysical Research Letters (publishedVersion)
OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
Scholarworks@UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) (submittedVersion)
Funders: National Science Foundation (0846641, 0936059)
Topics: Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate Change and Geoengineering
Keywords: tropical precipitation, sulfate aerosols, anthropogenic aerosol forcing, aerosol cooling, atmospheric energetics, CMIP3, CMIP5, Northern Hemisphere

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Anthropogenic sulfate aerosol and the southward shift of tropical precipitation in the late 20th century

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