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- Title
Revisiting the Impact of Sea Salt on Climate Sensitivity.
- Authors
Paulot, Fabien; Paynter, David; Winton, Michael; Ginoux, Paul; Zhao, Ming; Horowitz, Larry W.
- Abstract
Recent laboratory and field studies point to an increase of sea salt aerosol (SSA) emissions with temperature, suggesting that SSA may lower climate sensitivity. We assess the impact of a strong (4.2% K −1) and weak (0.7% K −1) temperature response of SSA emissions on the climate sensitivity of the coupled climate model CM4. We find that the stronger temperature dependence improves the simulation of marine aerosol optical depth sensitivity to temperature and lowers CM4 Transient Climate Response (‐0.12 K) and Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (‐0.5 K). At CO2 doubling, the higher SSA emission sensitivity causes a negative radiative feedback (‐0.125 Wm−2K−1), which can only be partly explained by changes in the radiative effect of SSA (‐0.08 Wm−2K−1). Stronger radiative feedbacks are dominated by more negative low‐level cloud feedbacks in the Northern Hemisphere, which are partly offset by more positive feedbacks in the Southern Hemisphere associated with a weaker Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Key Points: Satellite observations support an increase of sea salt emissions with temperatureIncreasing sea salt emissions with temperature induces a negative radiative feedback of ‐0.1 W m −2 K −1 in CM4Changes in sea surface temperature and AMOC modulate the sea salt feedback
- Subjects
SEA salt aerosols; SEA salt; MERIDIONAL overturning circulation; OCEAN temperature; OPTICAL depth (Astrophysics)
- Publication
Geophysical Research Letters, 2020, Vol 47, Issue 3, p1
- ISSN
0094-8276
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2019GL085601