Observational analyses of running 5 year ocean heat content trends (Ht) and net downward top of atmosphere radiation (N) are significantly correlated (r ∼ 0.6) from 1960 to 1999, but a spike in Ht in the early 2000s is likely spurious since it is inconsistent with estimates of N from both satellite observations and climate model simulations. Variations in N between 1960 and 2000 were dominated ...

Despite increasing scientific scrutiny in recent years, the direct impact of the ozone hole on surface temperatures over Antarctica remains uncertain. Here, we explore this question by using the Community Earth System Model Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (CESM-WACCM), contrasting two ensembles of runs with and without stratospheric ozone depletion. We find that, during austral spring,...

Despite increasing scientific scrutiny in recent years, the direct impact of the ozone hole on surface temperatures over Antarctica remains uncertain. Here, this question is explored by using the Community Earth System Model–Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (CESM-WACCM), contrasting two ensembles of runs with and without stratospheric ozone depletion. It is found that, during austral sp...

Despite increasing scientific scrutiny in recent years, the direct impact of the ozone hole on surface temperatures over Antarctica remains uncertain. Here, we explore this question by using the Community Earth System Model Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (CESM-WACCM), contrasting two ensembles of runs with and without stratospheric ozone depletion. We find that, during austral spring,...

Advanced remote sensing technology has provided spatially distributed variables for estimating land–ocean heat fluxes, allowing practical applications in drought monitoring, water resources management, and climate assessment. This Special Issue includes several research studies using state-of-the-art algorithms downward longwave radiation, surface net latent flux, columnar atmospheric vapor, fr...

A Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) longwave image of the cold air outbreak (left panel) and snapshots of simulations of five different mesoscale models. Lighter colors correspond to lower longwave radiation (colder temperatures). Overall the large-scale features are well reproduced and most models simulate a transition to a cumulus regime with a cellular structure. See the ...

Many studies on land surface radiation balances have relied on geostationary satellites. These satellites have provided data with high temporal resolution (less than 3 h); however, the spatial resolution was too coarse (20–250 km scale) to investigate local-scale land surface radiation balances. Moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) – onboard both the Terra and Aqua satellites –...

Introduction to compare calculations from a set of models with operationally observed data. The differences we find will lead to the development of new models to be tested with new data. Similarly. our GCM studies will use existing GCMs to study the radiation sensitivity problem. We anticipate that the outcome of this approach will provide both a better longwave radiative forcing algorithm and ...

Current weather and climate models neglect 3-D radiative transfer through cloud sides, which can change the cloud radiative effect (CRE) significantly. This two-part paper describes the development of the SPeedy Algorithm for Radiative TrAnsfer through CloUd Sides (SPARTACUS) to capture these effects efficiently in a two-stream radiation scheme for use in global models. The present paper concer...

Due to computational expense, the radiation schemes in many weather and climate models are called infrequently in time and/or on a reduced spatial grid. The former can lead to a lag in the diurnal cycle of surface temperature, while the latter can lead to large surface temperature errors at coastal land points due to surface fluxes computed over the ocean being used where the skin temperature a...