Publications
2024
G. Tselioudis, W. B. Rossow; Remillard, J.
Oceanic cloud trends during the satellite era and their radiative signatures Journal Article
In: Climate Dynamics, vol. 62, pp. 9319-9332, 2024, ([Accessed 22-01-2025]).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: ANALYSIS, CLOUD PROPERTIES, ISCCP, Radiation
@article{springerOceanicCloud,
title = {Oceanic cloud trends during the satellite era and their radiative signatures },
author = {Tselioudis, G., W.B. Rossow, F. Bender, L. Oreopoulos and J. Remillard},
url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-024-07396-8undefined,
https://www.williambrossow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024_Tselioudisetal24.pdf},
doi = {10.1007/s00382-024-07396-8},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-08-18},
urldate = {2024-08-18},
journal = {Climate Dynamics},
volume = {62},
pages = {9319-9332},
abstract = {The present study analyzes zonal mean cloud and radiation trends over the global oceans for the past 35 years from a suite of satellite datasets covering two periods. In the longer period (1984\textendash2018) cloud properties come from the ISCCP-H, CLARA-A3, and PATMOS-x datasets and radiative properties from the ISCCP-FH dataset, while for the shorter period (2000\textendash2018) cloud data from MODIS and CloudSat/CALIPSO and radiative fluxes from CERES-EBAF are added. Zonal mean total cloud cover (TCC) trend plots show an expansion of the subtropical dry zone, a poleward displacement of the midlatitude storm zone and a narrowing of the tropical intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) region over the 1984\textendash2018 period. This expansion of the ‘low cloud cover curtain’ and the contraction of the ITCZ rearrange the boundaries and extents of all major climate zones, producing a more poleward and narrower midlatitude storm zone and a wider subtropical zone. Zonal mean oceanic cloud cover trends are examined for three latitude zones, two poleward of 50 ° and one bounded within 50oS and 50oN, and show upward or near-zero cloud cover trends in the high latitude zones and consistent downward trends in the low latitude zone. The latter dominate in the global average resulting in TCC decreases that range from 0.72% per decade to 0.17% per decade depending on dataset and period. These contrasting cloud cover changes between the high and low latitude zones produce contrasting low latitude cloud radiative warming and high latitude cloud radiative cooling effects, present in both the ISCCP-FH and CERES-EBAF datasets. The global ocean mean trend of the short wave cloud radiative effect (SWCRE) depends on the balance between these contrasting trends, which in the CERES dataset materializes as a SW cloud radiative warming trend of 0.12 W/m2/decade coming from the dominance of the low-latitude positive SWCRE trends while in the ISCCP-FH dataset it manifests as a 0.3 W/m2/decade SW cloud radiative cooling trend coming from the dominance of the high latitude negative SWCRE trends. The CERES cloud radiative warming trend doubles in magnitude to 0.24 W/m2/decade when the period is extended from 2016 to 2022, implying a strong cloud radiative heating in the past 6 years coming from the low latitude zone.},
howpublished = {urlhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-024-07396-8},
note = {[Accessed 22-01-2025]},
keywords = {ANALYSIS, CLOUD PROPERTIES, ISCCP, Radiation},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The present study analyzes zonal mean cloud and radiation trends over the global oceans for the past 35 years from a suite of satellite datasets covering two periods. In the longer period (1984–2018) cloud properties come from the ISCCP-H, CLARA-A3, and PATMOS-x datasets and radiative properties from the ISCCP-FH dataset, while for the shorter period (2000–2018) cloud data from MODIS and CloudSat/CALIPSO and radiative fluxes from CERES-EBAF are added. Zonal mean total cloud cover (TCC) trend plots show an expansion of the subtropical dry zone, a poleward displacement of the midlatitude storm zone and a narrowing of the tropical intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) region over the 1984–2018 period. This expansion of the ‘low cloud cover curtain’ and the contraction of the ITCZ rearrange the boundaries and extents of all major climate zones, producing a more poleward and narrower midlatitude storm zone and a wider subtropical zone. Zonal mean oceanic cloud cover trends are examined for three latitude zones, two poleward of 50 ° and one bounded within 50oS and 50oN, and show upward or near-zero cloud cover trends in the high latitude zones and consistent downward trends in the low latitude zone. The latter dominate in the global average resulting in TCC decreases that range from 0.72% per decade to 0.17% per decade depending on dataset and period. These contrasting cloud cover changes between the high and low latitude zones produce contrasting low latitude cloud radiative warming and high latitude cloud radiative cooling effects, present in both the ISCCP-FH and CERES-EBAF datasets. The global ocean mean trend of the short wave cloud radiative effect (SWCRE) depends on the balance between these contrasting trends, which in the CERES dataset materializes as a SW cloud radiative warming trend of 0.12 W/m2/decade coming from the dominance of the low-latitude positive SWCRE trends while in the ISCCP-FH dataset it manifests as a 0.3 W/m2/decade SW cloud radiative cooling trend coming from the dominance of the high latitude negative SWCRE trends. The CERES cloud radiative warming trend doubles in magnitude to 0.24 W/m2/decade when the period is extended from 2016 to 2022, implying a strong cloud radiative heating in the past 6 years coming from the low latitude zone.
Rossow, William B.
Evolution of the concept of cloud-climate feedbacks Journal Article
In: Journal of the European Meteorological Society, vol. 1, pp. 100004, 2024, ISSN: 2950-6301.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: PRECIPITATION, Radiation, Weather
@article{ROSSOW2024100004,
title = {Evolution of the concept of cloud-climate feedbacks},
author = {William B. Rossow},
url = {https://www.williambrossow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Evolution-of-the-concept-of-cloud-cli_2024_Journal-of-the-European-Meteorolo.pdf},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemets.2024.100004},
issn = {2950-6301},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-01-01},
journal = {Journal of the European Meteorological Society},
volume = {1},
pages = {100004},
abstract = {The early concept of cloud-climate feedback was formulated as involving solely cloud cover effects on planetary radiation, separate from precipitation, and consistent with simple climate models. However, more than 50 years later, this concept continues to dominate analyses, especially of climate model performance, even though multiple global data products now exist that quantify weather-to-decadal scale joint variations of cloud properties, radiative fluxes, precipitation, surface energy and water fluxes, atmospheric and surface properties, and the circulations of the atmosphere and ocean. A more complete, observation-based analysis of cloud feedbacks on weather, seasonal and interannual scales is now possible. Results to date indicate that the cloud-radiative feedback amplifies the positive cloud-precipitation feedback on the atmospheric circulation from weather-to-annual time scales. Further analysis extensions are suggested.},
keywords = {PRECIPITATION, Radiation, Weather},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The early concept of cloud-climate feedback was formulated as involving solely cloud cover effects on planetary radiation, separate from precipitation, and consistent with simple climate models. However, more than 50 years later, this concept continues to dominate analyses, especially of climate model performance, even though multiple global data products now exist that quantify weather-to-decadal scale joint variations of cloud properties, radiative fluxes, precipitation, surface energy and water fluxes, atmospheric and surface properties, and the circulations of the atmosphere and ocean. A more complete, observation-based analysis of cloud feedbacks on weather, seasonal and interannual scales is now possible. Results to date indicate that the cloud-radiative feedback amplifies the positive cloud-precipitation feedback on the atmospheric circulation from weather-to-annual time scales. Further analysis extensions are suggested.
