Radiative forcing and albedo feedback from the Northern Hemisphere cryosphere between 1979 and 2008

Flanner, M.; Shell, Karen M.; Barlage, Michael; Perovich, Donald K.; Tschudi, M. A.

doi:10.1038/ngeo1062

Cited by 401 publications

(445 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Similarly, all-sky LCrRE derived from the CAM5 kernel is higher than that derived from the CAM4 kernel because cloud masking is substantially less in CAM5 due to the prevalence of thinner clouds (Kay et al, 2012;Perket et al, 2014). AM2 and CAM4 values are similar, indicating a similar degree of cloud masking in these two kernels, whereas the CAM3 kernel provides substantially greater attenuation of surface-albedo anomalies at the TOA (Flanner et al, 2011). Cao et al (2015) determined that the CAM3 and AM2 radiative kernels likely mask too much of the Arctic sea-ice radiative effect, but it is unclear whether these kernel biases exist over land and have persisted in the more modern CAM4 and CAM5 models.…”

Section: Spatial and Seasonal Variability Of The Mean Climate Statementioning

confidence: 78%

“…Flanner et al (2011) employed a definition of CrRE that utilizes snow-cover fraction in order to facilitate the use of snow extent data without coincident albedo measurements from several decades ago. Here we utilize a simpler definition that omits snowcover fraction, since we have direct measurements of surface albedo from MODIS.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The shortwave cryosphere radiative effect (CrRE) is the instantaneous influence of snow and ice cover on Earth's top-of-atmosphere (TOA) solar energy budget (Flanner et al, 2011;Hudson, 2011;Perket et al, 2014). CrRE depends not only on snow and sea-ice coverage but also on local insolation, cloud cover and properties of the snow, ice and their underlying surface that determine reflectance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Flanner et al (2011) derived a 30-year record of the northern hemispheric CrRE from coarse-resolution determinations of snow-cover extent. Here we apply higherresolution, higher-quality remote sensing data from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to derive global land-based CrRE over 2001-2013, helping inform on the utility of the longer-term record derived by Flanner et al (2011) and broadening the scope of these estimates to include the Southern Hemisphere. We generate CrRE for both all-sky and clear-sky conditions to help assess the masking effect of clouds and atmospheric aerosols.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ice-free surface albedo for permanent glaciated areas (e.g., Greenland, Antarctica) is assumed to be 0.26, an average value of snow-free albedo over barren land (Flanner et al, 2011). This assumption enables a rough estimate of the TOA impact associated with presence of the full ice sheets.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The global land shortwave cryosphere radiative effect during the MODIS era

Singh¹,

Flanner²,

Perket³

2015

The Cryosphere

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Abstract. The shortwave cryosphere radiative effect (CrRE) is the instantaneous influence of snow and ice cover on Earth's top-of-atmosphere (TOA) solar energy budget. Here, we apply measurements from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), combined with microwave retrievals of snow presence and radiative kernels produced from four different models, to derive CrRE over global land during 2001-2013. We estimate global annualmean land CrRE during this period of −2.6 W m −2 , with variations from −2.2 to −3.0 W m −2 resulting from use of different kernels and variations of −2.4 to −2.6 W m −2 resulting from different algorithmic determinations of snow presence and surface albedo. Slightly more than half of the global land CrRE originates from perennial snow on Antarctica, whereas the majority of the northern hemispheric effect originates from seasonal snow. Consequently, the northern hemispheric land CrRE peaks at −6.0 W m −2 in April, whereas the southern hemispheric effect more closely follows the austral insolation cycle, peaking at −9.0 W m −2 in December. Mountain glaciers resolved in 0.05 • MODIS data contribute about −0.037 W m −2 (1.4 %) of the global effect, with the majority (94 %) of this contribution originating from the Himalayas. Interannual trends in the global annual-mean land CrRE are not statistically significant during the MODIS era, but trends are positive (less negative) over large areas of northern Asia, especially during spring, and slightly negative over Antarctica, possibly due to increased snowfall. During a common overlap period of 2001-2008, our MODIS estimates of the northern hemispheric land CrRE are about 18 % smaller (less negative) than previous estimates derived from coarse-resolution AVHRR data, though interannual variations are well correlated (r = 0.78), indicating that these data are useful in determining longer-term trends in land CrRE.

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Section: Spatial and Seasonal Variability Of The Mean Climate Statementioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The global land shortwave cryosphere radiative effect during the MODIS era

Singh¹,

Flanner²,

Perket³

2015

The Cryosphere

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Processes controlling Southern Ocean shortwave climate feedbacks in CESM

Kay

Medeiros

Hwang

et al. 2014

Geophysical Research Letters

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A climate model (Community Earth System Model with the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CESM-CAM5)) is used to identify processes controlling Southern Ocean (30-70°S) absorbed shortwave radiation (ASR). In response to 21st century Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 forcing, both sea ice loss (2.6 W m À2 ) and cloud changes (1.2 W m À2 ) enhance ASR, but their relative importance depends on location and season. Poleward of~55°S, surface albedo reductions and increased cloud liquid water content (LWC) have competing effects on ASR changes. Equatorward of~55°S, decreased LWC enhances ASR. The 21st century cloud LWC changes result from warming and near-surface stability changes but appear unrelated to a small (1°) poleward shift in the eddy-driven jet. In fact, the 21st century ASR changes are 5 times greater than ASR changes resulting from large (5°) naturally occurring jet latitude variability. More broadly, these results suggest that thermodynamics (warming and near-surface stability), not poleward jet shifts, control 21st century Southern Ocean shortwave climate feedbacks.

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Diagnosing shortwave cryosphere radiative effect and its 21st century evolution in CESM

2014

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We incorporate a new diagnostic called the cryosphere radiative effect (CrRE), the instantaneous influence of surface snow and sea ice on the top-of-model solar energy budget, into two released versions of the Community Earth System Model (CESM1 and CCSM4). CrRE offers a more climatically relevant metric of the cryospheric state than snow and sea ice extent and is influenced by factors such as the seasonal cycle of insolation, cloud masking, and vegetation cover. We evaluate CrRE during the late 20th century and over the 21st century, specifically diagnosing the nature of CrRE contributions from terrestrial and marine sources. The radiative influence of ice sheets and glaciers is not considered, but snow on top of them is accounted for. Present-day global CrRE in both models is À3.8 W m À2 , with a boreal component (À4.2 to À4.6 W m À2 ) that compares well with observationally derived estimates (À3.9 to À4.6 W m À2 ). Similar present-day CrRE in the two model versions results from compensating differences in cloud masking and sea ice extent. Over the 21st century, radiative forcing in the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario causes reduced boreal sea ice cover, austral sea ice cover, and boreal snow cover, which all contribute roughly equally to enhancing global absorbed shortwave radiation by 1.4-1.8 Wm À2. Twenty-first century RCP8.5 global cryospheric albedo feedback are +0.41 and +0.45 W/m 2 /K, indicating that the two models exhibit similar temperature-normalized CrRE change.

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Radiative forcing and albedo feedback from the Northern Hemisphere cryosphere between 1979 and 2008

Cited by 401 publications

References 30 publications

The global land shortwave cryosphere radiative effect during the MODIS era

The global land shortwave cryosphere radiative effect during the MODIS era

Processes controlling Southern Ocean shortwave climate feedbacks in CESM

Diagnosing shortwave cryosphere radiative effect and its 21st century evolution in CESM

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