Trends in spectrally resolved outgoing longwave radiation from 10 years of satellite measurements

In recent years, the interest has grown in satellite-derived hyperspectral radiance measurements for assessing the individual impact of climate drivers and their cascade of feedbacks on the outgoing longwave radiation (OLR). In this paper, we use 10 years (2008-2017) of reprocessed radiances from the infrared atmospheric sounding interferometer (IASI) to evaluate the linear trends in clear-sky spectrally resolved OLR (SOLR) in the range [645-2300] cm(-1). Spatial inhomogeneities are observed in most of the analyzed spectral regions. These mostly reflected the natural variability of the atmospheric temperature and composition but long-term changes in greenhouse gases concentrations are also highlighted. In particular, the increase of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 led to significant negative trends in the SOLR of -0.05 to -0.3% per year in the spectral region corresponding to the nu(2) and the nu(3) CO2 and in the nu(4) CH4 band. Most of the trends associated with the natural variability of the OLR can be related to the El Nino/Southern Oscillation activity and its teleconnections in the studied period. This is the case for the channels most affected by the temperature variations of the surface and the first layers of the atmosphere but also for the channels corresponding to the nu(2) H2O and the nu(3) O-3 bands.

Automated summary

The study evaluated linear trends in clear-sky spectrally resolved OLR using reprocessed radiances from IASI over a 10-year period. Spatial inhomogeneities and long-term changes in greenhouse gases concentrations were observed, with significant negative trends linked to CO2 and CH4 increases. Natural variability associated with El Nino/Southern Oscillation activity also had an impact on OLR trends.