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Revisiting Cloud Radiative Heating and the Southern Annular Mode
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2022
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Source: Geophysical Research Letters, 49(19)
[PDF-843.74 KB]
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Journal Title:Geophysical Research Letters
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Description:Cloud‐circulation interactions have a potentially large but uncertain influence on regional climate. Here we use satellite observations to investigate relationships between atmospheric cloud radiative heating and hemispheric‐scale shifts in the Southern Hemisphere extratropical jet stream, as represented by the Southern Annular Mode. In contrast to a previous study, we find that poleward jet shifts cause bottom‐heavy heating anomalies. The heating anomalies arise from two distinct mechanisms: First, poleward jet shifts promote anomalous large‐scale subsidence equatorward of the mean jet latitude. This increases the fraction of low clouds that are exposed to space, thereby enhancing lower‐tropospheric radiative cooling. Second, deep and multi‐layer clouds in extratropical cyclones shift poleward with the jet, causing radiative heating anomalies throughout the troposphere. The bottom‐heavy structure of the heating anomalies occurs because low clouds strongly emit radiation. These results establish new observational benchmarks for understanding extratropical cloud‐circulation interactions.
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Source:Geophysical Research Letters, 49(19)
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ISSN:0094-8276;1944-8007;
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