The latent heating feedback on the mid-latitude circulation
Author(s)
Auestad, Henrik
Shibu, Abel
Ceppi, Paulo
Woollings, Tim
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Midlatitude storms transport warm and moist air poleward and upward, releasing latent heat. Latent heating is thus organized by the circulation but then modifies temperature gradients and winds, constituting a nonlinear feedback. We define the latent heating feedback as the effects that arise from latent heating being coupled with the circulation. Because of its nonlinearity, the climatic effects of this feedback are difficult to isolate and remain poorly understood. By decoupling latent heating from the circulation in an atmospheric general circulation model, we show that the latent heating feedback enhances storm track eddy diffusivity, modifying eddy heat fluxes beyond changes in mean baroclinicity. Simultaneously, tracked storms occur at lower latitudes, intensify more, and propagate further poleward, while the subtropical jet strengthens as coupled latent heating preserves lower latitude baroclinicity. The feedback response supports the idea that diabatic effects cause the “too zonal, too equatorward” storm track biases in climate models.
Date Issued
2025-09-28
Date Acceptance
2025-08-24
Citation
Geophysical Research Letters, 2025, 52 (18)
ISSN
0094-8276
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
52
Issue
18
Copyright Statement
© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Subjects
BAROCLINICITY
climate
DATASET
diabatic
Geology
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
jet
JET-STREAM
latent heat
LIFE-CYCLE
midlatitude
MOIST CONVECTION
NORTH-ATLANTIC OSCILLATION
PARAMETERIZATION
Physical Sciences
Science & Technology
STATIC STABILITY
storm track
TEMPERATURE
TRACKING
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e2025GL116437
Date Publish Online
2025-09-26