Chia Chou and J. David Neelin
Geophys. Res. Lett., 1999.
Paper (PDF 1.4MB).
© Copyright 1999 by the American Geophysical Union.
Abstract
In considering the role of cirriform clouds in climate change, it is
important to distinguish among the relationships of different high
cloud types to large-scale atmospheric dynamics. While cirostratus
and cirrocumulus (CsCc) have a clear relation to deep convective
sources, the ensemble behavior of cirrus is more subtle. An emperical
relation is found between cirrus fraction and deep cloud top
temperature that points to detrainment temperature as a dominant
factor governing tropical and subtropical cirrus. This
cirrus-detrainment-temperature (CDT) relation provides a target for
modelers, and suggests an additional cloud-climate feedback. As surface
temperatures warm, detrainment temperatures cool as deep cloud top
height increases. The CDT relation implies that cirrus fraction
increases. Because cirrus are optically thinner than CsCc, the
competition between longwave feedbacks and cloud albedo feedbacks
leads to a hypothesized positive climate feedback by cirrus fraction.
Citation Chou, C. and J. D. Neelin, 1999: Cirrus detrainment-temperature feedback. Geophys. Res. Lett., 26(9), 1295-1298.