Murray, BJ orcid.org/0000-0002-8198-8131, Carslaw, KS orcid.org/0000-0002-6800-154X
and Field, PR orcid.org/0000-0001-8528-0088
(2021)
Opinion: Cloud-phase climate feedback and the importance of ice-nucleating particles.
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 21 (2).
pp. 665-679.
ISSN 1680-7316
Abstract
Shallow clouds covering vast areas of the world's middle- and high-latitude oceans play a key role in dampening the global temperature rise associated with CO2. These clouds, which contain both ice and supercooled water, respond to a warming world by transitioning to a state with more liquid water and a greater albedo, resulting in a negative “cloud-phase” climate feedback component. Here we argue that the magnitude of the negative cloud-phase feedback component depends on the amount and nature of the small fraction of aerosol particles that can nucleate ice crystals. We propose that a concerted research effort is required to reduce substantial uncertainties related to the poorly understood sources, concentration, seasonal cycles and nature of these ice-nucleating particles (INPs) and their rudimentary treatment in climate models. The topic is important because many climate models may have overestimated the magnitude of the cloud-phase feedback, and those with better representation of shallow oceanic clouds predict a substantially larger climate warming. We make the case that understanding the present-day INP population in shallow clouds in the cold sector of cyclone systems is particularly critical for defining present-day cloud phase and therefore how the clouds respond to warming. We also need to develop a predictive capability for future INP emissions and sinks in a warmer world with less ice and snow and potentially stronger INP sources.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Inst for Climate & Atmos Science (ICAS) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 23 Feb 2021 14:47 |
Last Modified: | 23 Feb 2021 14:47 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | European Geosciences Union |
Identification Number: | 10.5194/acp-21-665-2021 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:171338 |
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