Identification

Title

Climate variability and relationships between top-of-atmosphere radiation and temperatures on Earth

Abstract

The monthly global and regional variability in Earth's radiation balance is examined using correlations and regressions between atmospheric temperatures and water vapor with top-of-atmosphere outgoing longwave (OLR), absorbed shortwave (ASR), and net radiation (RT = ASR - OLR). Anomalous global mean monthly variability in the net radiation is surprisingly large, often more than ±1 W m⁻², and arises mainly from clouds and transient weather systems. Relationships are strongest and positive between OLR and temperatures, especially over land for tropospheric temperatures, except in the deep tropics where high sea surface temperatures are associated with deep convection, high cold cloud tops and thus less OLR but also less ASR. Tropospheric vertically averaged temperatures (surface = 150 hPa) are thus negatively correlated globally with net radiation (-0.57), implying 2.18 ± 0.10 W m⁻² extra net radiation to space for 1°C increase in temperature. Water vapor is positively correlated with tropospheric temperatures and thus also negatively correlated with net radiation; however, when the temperature dependency of water vapor is statistically removed, a significant positive feedback between water vapor and net radiation is revealed globally with 0.87 W m⁻² less OLR to space per millimeter of total column water vapor. The regression coefficient between global RT and tropospheric temperature becomes -2.98 W m⁻² K⁻¹ if water vapor effects are removed, slightly less than expected from blackbody radiation (-3.2 W m⁻² K⁻¹), suggesting a positive feedback from clouds and other processes. Robust regional structures provide additional physical insights. The observational record is too short, weather noise too great, and forcing too small to make reliable estimates of climate sensitivity.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7g73fxh

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

North bounding latitude

South bounding latitude

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2015-05-16T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

Lineage

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact