Constraining the sensitivity of regional climate with the use of historical observations
A novel method is presented for calculating how sensitive regional climate is to radiative forcings, based on global surface temperature observations. Forcings that originate in both the region of interest and outside of it are taken into account. It is found that the transient temperature sensitivity parameter (β, defined as the observed temperature response per unit forcing) can be better constrained for 50°S-25°N than for the rest of the globe. The average β in this region is 0.35°C(Wm -2)-1. The models used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4) 1% yr-1 CO2 increase experiment exhibit a β in this region that, on average, is higher by 35%. The results show that for 50°S-25°N β may provide a more valuable constraint for model evaluation than global mean climate sensitivity. © 2010 American Meteorological Society.
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- Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
- 3708 Oceanography
- 3702 Climate change science
- 3701 Atmospheric sciences
- 0909 Geomatic Engineering
- 0405 Oceanography
- 0401 Atmospheric Sciences
Citation
Published In
DOI
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
- 3708 Oceanography
- 3702 Climate change science
- 3701 Atmospheric sciences
- 0909 Geomatic Engineering
- 0405 Oceanography
- 0401 Atmospheric Sciences