Stratospheric water vapor feedback and its climate impacts in the coupled atmosphere–ocean Goddard Earth Observing System Chemistry-Climate Model

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https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-020-05348-6

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http://hdl.handle.net/11603/26698

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7928-0775

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2020-06-27

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journal articles
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Li, F., Newman, P. Stratospheric water vapor feedback and its climate impacts in the coupled atmosphere–ocean Goddard Earth Observing System Chemistry-Climate Model. Clim Dyn 55, 1585–1595 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-020-05348-6

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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
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Abstract

The stratospheric water vapor feedbacks on climate for abrupt CO₂ quadrupling are investigated with the coupled atmosphere–ocean Goddard Earth Observing System Chemistry-Climate model. A feedback suppression method is used to quantify the stratospheric water vapor climate feedback parameter and the impacts of stratospheric water vapor increases on temperature and circulation. It is found that increases in stratospheric water vapor change the model’s net climate feedback parameter by 0.11 W m-² K-¹, contributing to 0.5 K, or 10%, of the global-mean surface warming under abrupt CO₂ quadrupling. Stratospheric water vapor increases lead to significant impacts on stratospheric temperature and dynamics. The increases induce stratospheric dynamical changes that strongly modify stratospheric cooling patterns. About 30% of the acceleration of the stratospheric Brewer-Dobson circulation under 4 × CO₂ is attributed to the stratospheric water vapor increases. In the troposphere, the stratospheric water vapor feedback plays a role in Arctic amplification and is responsible for 14% of the Arctic warming. It also affects tropospheric circulation, causing greater poleward shift of the northern hemisphere tropospheric midlatitude jet.