A PDRMIP multi-model study on the impacts of regional aerosol forcings on global and regional precipitation
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Atmospheric aerosols such as sulfate and black carbon (BC) generate inhomogeneous radiative forcing and can affect precipitation in distinct ways compared to greenhouse gases (GHGs). Their regional effects on the atmospheric energy budget and circulation can be important for understanding and predicting global and regional precipitation changes, which act on top of the background GHG-induced hydrological changes. Under the framework of the Precipitation Driver Response Model Inter-comparison Project (PDRMIP), multiple models were used for the first time to simulate the influence of regional (Asian and European) sulfate and BC forcing on global and regional precipitation. The results show that, as in the case of global aerosol forcing, the global fast precipitation response to regional aerosol forcing scales with global atmospheric absorption, and the slow precipitation response scales with global surface temperature response. Asian sulphate aerosols appear to be a stronger driver of global temperature and precipitation change compared to European aerosols, but when the responses are normalised by unit radiative forcing or by aerosol burden change, the picture reverses, with European aerosols being more efficient in driving global change. The global apparent hydrological sensitivities of these regional forcing experiments are again consistent with those for corresponding global aerosol forcings found in the literature. However, the regional responses and regional apparent hydrological sensitivities do not align with the corresponding global values. Through a holistic approach involving analysis of the energy budget combined with exploring changes in atmospheric dynamics, we provide a framework for explaining the global and regional precipitation responses to regional aerosol forcing.
Date Issued
2018-06-01
Date Acceptance
2018-02-20
Citation
Journal of Climate, 2018, 31, pp.4429-4447
ISSN
0894-8755
Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Start Page
4429
End Page
4447
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Climate
Volume
31
Copyright Statement
© 2018 American Meteorological Society. This article is licensed under a
Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
EARTH SYSTEM MODEL
ASIAN SUMMER MONSOON
ANTHROPOGENIC AEROSOLS
CLIMATE SENSITIVITY
EMISSIONS
CMIP5
UNCERTAINTY
TEMPERATURE
PROJECTIONS
POLLUTANTS
0401 Atmospheric Sciences
0405 Oceanography
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2018-05-17