Thermodynamic constraint on the cloud liquid water feedback in climate models
Abstract
The cloud liquid water feedback in climate models consists of the increase (decrease) in optical depth of clouds resulting from higher (lower) liquid water contents that might accompany tropospheric warming (cooling). The change in cloud liquid water with temperature is shown to depend on the rate of change of the slope of the moist adiabat with respect to temperature, and it is a strong function of temperature. The value of this rate of change in the tropics is about half that in mid and high latitudes and is much less than the value obtained by assuming that liquid water scales with the saturation mixing ratio.
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The fractional increase in S with warming is influenced by changes in the moist adiabatic lapse rate and varies strongly depending on temperature and therefore altitude in the atmosphere.
“The fractional increase in S with warming is influenced by changes in the moist adiabatic lapse rate [11, 62] and varies strongly depending on temperature and therefore altitude in the atmosphere.”
From Precipitation Extremes Under Climate Change (2015) · cites this paper as [11]
Cites
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Holton, J. R. (1982) · Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences · doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1982)039 · Cited by 643 · see citing works
Cloud optical thickness feedbacks in the CO2 climate problem
Somerville, R. C. J., & Remer, L. A. (1984) · Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · doi:10.1029/jd089id06p09668 · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Cloud‐radiation feedback to climate
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Cloud optical feedback and climate stability in a radiative-convective model
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An Assessment of Earth's Climate Sensitivity Using Multiple Lines of Evidence
Sherwood, S. C., Webb, M. J., Annan, J. D., Armour, K. C., Forster, P. M., Hargreaves, J. C., Hegerl, G., Klein, S. A., Marvel, K. D., Rohling, E. J., et al. (2020) · Reviews of Geophysics · doi:10.1029/2019rg000678 · Cited by 1,254 · see citing works
Precipitation Extremes Under Climate Change
O’Gorman, P. A. (2015) · Current Climate Change Reports · doi:10.1007/s40641-015-0009-3 · Cited by 831 · see citing works
“The fractional increase in S with warming is influenced by changes in the moist adiabatic lapse rate [11,62] and varies strongly depending on temperature and therefore altitude in the atmosphere.”
BackgroundCloud feedback mechanisms and their representation in global climate models
Ceppi, P., Brient, F., Zelinka, M. D., & Hartmann, D. L. (2017) · WIREs Climate Change · doi:10.1002/wcc.465 · Cited by 430 · see citing works
O’Gorman, P. A., & Muller, C. J. (2010) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/5/2/025207 · Cited by 326 · see citing works
Scaling of Precipitation Extremes over a Wide Range of Climates Simulated with an Idealized GCM
O’Gorman, P. A., & Schneider, T. (2009) · Journal of Climate · doi:10.1175/2009jcli2701.1 · Cited by 217 · see citing works
- Authors
- Betts, A. K., & Harshvardhan
- ORCID
- Betts, Alan K.
- Venue
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Published
- 1987-07-20
- Volume
- 92
- Issue
- D7
- Pages
- 8483-8485
- ISSN
- 0148-0227 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2148099617
- Cited by
- 160
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 7.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations
- Keywords
- cloud optical thickness, thermodynamic constraints, tropospheric warming, climate sensitivity, cloud microphysics
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