On the Correlation between Forcing and Climate Sensitivity
Name
MITJPSPGC_Rpt188.pdf
Size
523.11 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
215d51b270e7a5f0459debc0d622bbed
Author(s)
Sokolov, Andrei
Date Issued
August 2010
Publisher
MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
Citation
Report no. 188
Series/Report no.
;Report no. 188
Abstract
The possible correlation between climate sensitivity and radiative forcing is studied using versions of the NCAR Community Atmospheric Model (CAM) model with different climate sensitivities. No such correlation was found for the CO2 forcing. A weak correlation for the direct sulfate aerosol forcing is associated with differences in cloud cover in control climate simulations with different versions of the model. Presented results suggest that correlation between sensitivity and radiative forcing in the 20th century simulations with different AOGCMs is not a reflection of physical reality but is a result of different treatments of forcing agents, primarily aerosols.
Description
Abstract and PDF report are also available on the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change website (http://globalchange.mit.edu/)