High CO2 levels could lead to catastrophic loss of global cloud cover and 8°C rise in temperatures according to simulation research conducted by scientists at the California Institute of Technology.
Original Published Research Article
nature.com/articles/s41561-019-0310-1
In simulations, stratocumulus cloud decks become unstable and break up into scattered clouds when CO2 levels rise above 1,200 ppm, triggering a surface warming of about 8 K globally and 10 K in the subtropics. Once these decks have broken up, they only re-form once CO2 concentrations drop substantially below the level at which the instability first occurred.
Climate transitions that arise from this instability may have contributed importantly to hothouse climates and abrupt climate changes in the geological past. Such transitions to a much warmer climate may also occur in the future if CO2 levels continue to rise.
Authors:
Tapio Schneider
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Colleen M. Kaul
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Kyle G. Pressel
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Twitter Quote, Dr. Mike Byrne, Climate scientist researching atmospheric dynamics, hydrological cycle, climate change. Lecturer @univofstandrews + Marie Curie Fellow @UniofOxford
“Wild new research from Schneider et al in @NatureGeosci: When CO2 concs pass 1200ppm in a high-res model, the stratocumulus cloud deck disintegrates causing subtropical temperatures to increase by 10C! Expect lots of debate about this new ‘tipping point’.”
Full PDF Article of Original Research, Shared By Dr. Byrne
“Possible climate transitions from breakup of stratocumulus decks under greenhouse warming”
https://rdcu.be/bovRy”
Detailed Description of Original Research Article
“A state-of-the-art supercomputer simulation indicates that a feedback loop between global warming and cloud loss can push Earth’s climate past a disastrous tipping point in as little as a century.”
quantamagazine.org/cloud-loss…8-degrees-to-global-warming…
