Kramer, RJ, He, H, Soden, BJ et al. (4 more authors) (2021) Observational Evidence of Increasing Global Radiative Forcing. Geophysical Research Letters, 48 (7). ISSN 0094-8276
Abstract
Changes in atmospheric composition, such as increasing greenhouse gases, cause an initial radiative imbalance to the climate system, quantified as the instantaneous radiative forcing. This fundamental metric has not been directly observed globally and previous estimates have come from models. In part, this is because current space-based instruments cannot distinguish the instantaneous radiative forcing from the climate’s radiative response. We apply radiative kernels to satellite observations to disentangle these components and find all-sky instantaneous radiative forcing has increased 0.53 ± 0.11 W/m2 from 2003 to 2018, accounting for positive trends in the total planetary radiative imbalance. This increase has been due to a combination of rising concentrations of well-mixed greenhouse gases and recent reductions in aerosol emissions. These results highlight distinct fingerprints of anthropogenic activity in Earth’s changing energy budget, which we find observations can detect within 4 years.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Kramer, RJ, He, H, Soden, BJ et al. (4 more authors) (2021) Observational Evidence of Increasing Global Radiative Forcing. Geophysical Research Letters, 48 (7). ISSN 0094-8276, which has been published in final form at Geophysical Research Letters. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. |
Keywords: | aerosols; greenhouse gases; radiative forcing; radiative kernels |
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: | 26 May 2021 08:54 |
Last Modified: | 09 Oct 2021 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1029/2020gl091585 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:174407 |