Cloud feedback identified
Using a decade’s worth of data from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant
Energy System instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite, as well as
meteorological analyses provided by NASA’s Modern Era Retrospective
Analysis for Research and Applications and by the European Centre for
Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Professor Andrew Dessler calculated the
amount of energy trapped by clouds as the climate varied.
He found evidence of a positive feedback, whereby for every 1°C of warming, clouds trapped an additional 0.5 watts per square metre. ‘It’s a vicious cycle – warmer temperatures mean clouds trap more heat, which in turn leads to even more warming,’ Dessler explained.
The study is the first to look at real-world observations of global clouds at low and high altitudes. The results were in broad agreement with those from most climate models.
‘Based on my results, I think the chances that clouds will save us from dramatic climate change are pretty low,’ Dessler said. ‘In fact, my work shows that clouds will likely be amplifying the warming from human activities.’
February 2011
He found evidence of a positive feedback, whereby for every 1°C of warming, clouds trapped an additional 0.5 watts per square metre. ‘It’s a vicious cycle – warmer temperatures mean clouds trap more heat, which in turn leads to even more warming,’ Dessler explained.
The study is the first to look at real-world observations of global clouds at low and high altitudes. The results were in broad agreement with those from most climate models.
‘Based on my results, I think the chances that clouds will save us from dramatic climate change are pretty low,’ Dessler said. ‘In fact, my work shows that clouds will likely be amplifying the warming from human activities.’
February 2011
|
FIND OUT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ON TWITTER:
|
