Climate Model Bias 5: Storminess
21 hours ago Andy May
By Andy May
In part 4 the impact of convection and atmospheric circulation on climate was discussed. When circulation patterns change, they change the speed and efficiency of the transport of excess heat from the tropics to the poles. When this heat transport is faster, the world becomes cooler since the poles have a weak greenhouse effect and are more efficient at radiating heat to space. The tropics are humid and have a very strong greenhouse effect because water vapor is the most powerful greenhouse gas.[1] Thus, the thermal energy (heat) transported to the low humidity poles is more easily sent to space than it would be in the tropics.
The temperature gradient formed between the tropics and the poles helps drive this heat transfer, but it is modulated by atmospheric and oceanic circulation and convection patterns. A very steep gradient, such as we have today, increases storminess.
The temperature gradient powers meridional transport and weather
It is uncontroversial that temperature gradients, at least in part, power our weather. Heat wants to flow from warmer areas to colder areas as it seeks an equilibrium temperature. On a larger scale, meridional transport is also, in part, a function of the temperature difference between the tropics and the poles. Leon Barry and colleagues write:
“The atmospheric heat transport on Earth from the Equator to the poles is largely carried out by mid-latitude storms.”[2]
Leon Barry, et al., Nature, 2002
Strong mid-latitude storms, cyclones, and other storms carry most excess tropical heat poleward, and the more they carry the colder Earth becomes. The temperature gradient is not the only factor controlling meridional transport, there are many other modulators,[3] but it is an important factor, perhaps the most important one.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/03/09/climate-model-bias-5-storminess/
