Publication Abstracts

Shindell et al. 2012

Shindell, D.T., A. Voulgarakis, G. Faluvegi, and G. Milly, 2012: Precipitation response to regional radiative forcing. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 6969-6982, doi:10.5194/acp-12-6969-2012.

Precipitation shifts can have large impacts on human society and ecosystems. Many aspects of how inhomogeneous radiative forcings influence precipitation remain unclear, however. Here we investigate regional precipitation responses to various forcings imposed in different latitude bands in a climate model. We find that several regions show strong, significant responses to most forcings, but the magnitude and even the sign depends upon the forcing location and type. Aerosol and ozone forcings typically induce larger responses than equivalent carbon dioxide (CO2) forcing, and the influence of remote forcings often outweighs that of local forcings. Consistent with this, ozone and especially aerosols contribute greatly to precipitation changes over the Sahel and South and East Asia in historical simulations, and inclusion of aerosols greatly increases the agreement with observed trends in these areas, which cannot be attributed to either greenhouse gases or natural forcings. Estimates of precipitation responses derived from multiplying our Regional Precipitation Potential (RPP; the response per unit forcing relationships) by historical forcings typically capture the actual response in full transient climate simulations fairly well, suggesting that these relationships may provide useful metrics. The strong sensitivity to aerosol and ozone forcing suggests that although some air quality improvements may unmask greenhouse gas-induced changes in temperature, they have large benefits for reducing regional disruption of the hydrologic cycle.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{sh02600e,
  author={Shindell, D. T. and Voulgarakis, A. and Faluvegi, G. and Milly, G.},
  title={Precipitation response to regional radiative forcing},
  year={2012},
  journal={Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics},
  volume={12},
  pages={6969--6982},
  doi={10.5194/acp-12-6969-2012},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - sh02600e
AU  - Shindell, D. T.
AU  - Voulgarakis, A.
AU  - Faluvegi, G.
AU  - Milly, G.
PY  - 2012
TI  - Precipitation response to regional radiative forcing
JA  - Atmos. Chem. Phys.
JO  - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
VL  - 12
SP  - 6969
EP  - 6982
DO  - 10.5194/acp-12-6969-2012
ER  -

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