Dataset associated with "Three flavors of radiative feedbacks and their implications for estimating Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity"
Date
2021
Authors
Rugenstein, Maria
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
The realization that atmospheric radiative feedbacks depend on the underlying patterns of surface warming and global temperature, and thus, change over time has led to an ignition of feedback definitions and methods to estimate equilibrium climate sensitivity. We contrast three flavors of radiative feedbacks -- equilibrium, effective, and differential feedback -- and discuss their physical interpretations and applications. We show that their values at any given time can differ more than 1Wm-2K-1 and their implied equilibrium or effective climate sensitivity can differ several degrees. With ten (quasi) equilibrated climate models, we show that 400 years might be enough to estimate the true equilibrium climate sensitivity with a 5% error and a simple regression method utilizing the differential feedback parameter. We argue that a community-wide agreement on the interpretation of the different feedback definitions would advance the quest to narrow the estimate of climate sensitivity.
Description
These are numerical data for all plots shown in the paper:
1) The LongRunMIP output of global and annual mean “tas” and “netTOA” for the models CCSM3 (abrupt2x and aburpt4x), CESM (abrupt2x and abrupt4x), CNRMCM61 (abrupt2x and abrupt4x), ECHAM5MPIOM (abrupt4x), GISSE2R (abrupt4x), HadCM3L (abrupt2x and abrupt4x), HadGEM2 (abrupt4x), IPSLCM5A (abrupt4x), MPIESM11 (abrupt4x), MPIESM12 (abrupt2x and abrupt4x)
2) ECSvalues.txt contain the ECS estimates as shown in Fig. 2 in the paper. ECSvalues_Bayesianfit.txt contain the ECS estimate with uncertainty ranges of the energy balance model as presented in Proistosescu et al. 2017.
3) Model output of global and annual mean “tas” and “netTOA” for the model CESM 1.0.4, as shown in Fig. 1. "cesmtempfit*.nc” are the splines fitted to the “tas” output for converting the differential feedback parameter from temperature to time, as detailed in Rugenstein et al. 2016.
Department of Atmospheric Science
Department of Atmospheric Science
Rights Access
Subject
climate sensitivity
radiative feedback
climate
climate models
LongRunMIP
Citation
Associated Publications
Rugenstein, M. A. A., & Armour, K. C. (2021). Three flavors of radiative feedbacks and their implications for estimating equilibrium climate sensitivity. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL092983. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL092983
Rugenstein, M. A. A., Gregory, J. M., Schaller, N., Sedláček, J., and Knutti, R., 2016: Multiannual Ocean–Atmosphere Adjustments to Radiative Forcing. Journal of Climate, 29, 5643-5659. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0312.1
Rugenstein, M. A. A., Gregory, J. M., Schaller, N., Sedláček, J., and Knutti, R., 2016: Multiannual Ocean–Atmosphere Adjustments to Radiative Forcing. Journal of Climate, 29, 5643-5659. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0312.1