4.7 Article

Observationally Constrained Cloud Phase Unmasks Orbitally Driven Climate Feedbacks

Journal

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Volume 48, Issue 6, Pages -

Publisher

AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1029/2020GL091873

Keywords

cloud phase feedback; glacial‐ interglacials; mixed phase clouds; Paleoclimate; Pleistocene

Funding

  1. ERC [758005]
  2. NSF [1352417]
  3. European Research Council (ERC) [758005] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)

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This study found that constraining cloud phase can weaken the negative high-latitude cloud phase feedback and reveal positive water vapor and cloud feedback effects, extending the cooling effect to lower latitudes. These cloud and water vapor feedbacks are key mechanisms amplifying orbital climate forcing.
The mechanisms which amplify orbitally driven changes in insolation and drive the glacial cycles of the past 2.6 million years, the Pleistocene, are poorly understood. Previous studies indicate that cloud phase feedbacks oppose ice sheet initiation when orbital configuration supports ice sheet growth. Cloud phase was observationally constrained in a recent study and provides evidence for a weaker negative cloud feedback in response to carbon dioxide doubling. We observationally constrain cloud phase in the Community Earth System Model and explore how changes in orbital configuration impact the climate response. Constraining cloud phase weakens the negative high latitude cloud phase feedback and unmasks positive water vapor and cloud feedbacks (amount and optical depth) that extend cooling to lower latitudes. Snowfall accumulation and ablation metrics also support ice sheet expansion as seen in proxy records. This indicates that well-known cloud and water vapor feedbacks are the mechanisms amplifying orbital climate forcing.

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