NoTricksZone By Kenneth Richard on 2. March 2020
New Study Asserts Cloud Cover Changes Drove The Post-1980s Solar Radiation Increase Important To Recent Warming
Using NASA’s MERRA-2 radiation data, scientists find shortwave radiation (SW) has been rising since the 1980s. The SW increase has been larger and faster than longwave radiation (LW) changes during this same timespan. Cloud variability has been the “main driver†of these trends.In a new Nature journal paper (
Delgado-Bonal et al, 2020) published in Scientific Reports, scientists use radiation records from NASA to conclude shortwave (SW) changes are “mainly determined†by cloud modulation.
Therefore, because (a) the SW radiation trend has been more pronounced than the LW radiation changes, and (b) the cloud variability is the main driver of SW radiation (that is of “great importance to recent climate changeâ€), the recent positive energy imbalance – and warming – can mainly be attributed to cloud modulation.
The “argued†dominance of a human and/or LW (greenhouse effect) domination in recent climate change therefore becomes a question that is “still openâ€.
More:
https://notrickszone.com/2020/03/02/new-study-asserts-cloud-cover-changes-drove-the-post-1980s-solar-radiation-increase-important-to-recent-warming/