Abstract
A coupled climate model is used to explore the regional response of the climate system to solar forcing, with emphasis on the role of the ocean. It is shown that both the transient and the equilibrium response of surface temperature to changes in total solar irradiation is smaller over ocean than over land because of the ocean’s large heat capacity and the feedback involving evaporation. Furthermore, the advection of temperature anomalies and changes in ocean currents have an impact on the timing and the geographical distribution of the response. Nevertheless, at regional scales, the response to the forcing is embedded within the large internal variability of the system making the detection and analysis of the forced response difficult. Furthermore, this forced response could imply both changes in the mean state of the system as well as in its variability.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bengtsson, L.: 2006, ‘On the response of the climate system to solar forcing’, Space Sci. Rev., this volume, doi: 10.1007/s11214-006-9056-3.
Bertrand, C., Loutre, M.-F., Crucifix M., and Berger, A.: 2002, ‘Climate of the last millennium: A sensitivity study’, Tellus 54A, 221–244.
Bianchi, G. G. and McCave, I.: 1999, ‘Holocene periodicity in North Atlantic climate and deep-ocean flow south of Iceland’, Nature 397, 515–517.
Bond, G., Kromer, B., Beer, J., Muscheler, R., Evans, M. N., Showers, W., Hoffmann, S., Lotti-Bond, R., Hajdas, I., and Bonani, G.: 2001, ‘Persistent solar influence on North Atlantic climate during the Holocene’, Science 294, 2130–2133.
Crowley, T. J.: 2000, ‘Causes of climate change over the past 1000 years’, Science 289, 270–277.
Cubasch, U., Voss, R., Hegerl, G. C., Waszkewitz, J., and Crowley, T. J.: 1997, ‘Simulation of the influence of solar radiation variations on the global climate with an ocean-atmosphere general circulation model’, Clim. Dyn. 13, 757–767.
Gill, A. E.: 1982, ‘Atmosphere-ocean dynamics’, International Geophysics Series 30, Academic Press, San Diego, 662 pp.
Goosse, H. and Fichefet, T.: 1999, ‘Importance of ice-ocean interactions for the global ocean circulation: A model study’, J. Geophys. Res. 104, 23,337–23,355.
Goosse, H. and Renssen, H.: 2004, ‘Exciting natural modes of variability by solar and volcanic forcing: Idealized and realistic experiments’, Clim. Dyn. 23, 153–163.
Goosse, H., Masson-Delmotte, V., Renssen H., Delmotte, M., Fichefet, T., Morgan, V., van Ommen, T., Khim, B. K., and Stenni, B.: 2004, ‘A late medieval warm period in the Southern Hemisphere as delayed response to external forcing?’, Geophys. Res. Lett. 31, doi:10.1029/2003GL019140.
Goosse, H., Renssen, H., Timmermann, A., and Bradley, R. S.: 2005, ‘Internal and forced climate variability during the last millennium: A model-data comparison using ensemble simulations’, Quat. Sci. Rev. 24, 1345–1360.
Gregory, et al., 2005: ‘A model intercomparison of changes in the Atlantic thermohaline circulation in response to increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration’, Geophys. Res. Lett. 32, doi:10.1029/2005GL023209.
Haigh, J. D. and Blackburn, M.: 2006, ‘Solar influences on dynamical coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere’, Space Sci. Rev., this volume, doi: 10.1007/s11214-006-9067-0.
Hall, I. R., Bianchi, G. G., and Evans, J. R.: 2004, ‘Centennial to millennial scale Holocene climate-deep water linkage in the North Atlantic’, Quat. Sci. Rev. 23, 1529–1536.
Hansen, J., Russel, G., Lacis, A., Fung, I., and Rind, D.: 1985, ‘Climate response times: Dependence on climate sensitivity and ocean mixing’, Science 229, 857–859.
Hansen, J., Sato, M., and Ruedy, R.: 1997, ‘Radiative forcing and climate response’, J. Geophys. Res. 102, 6831–6864.
Holland, M. M. and Bitz, C. M.: 2003, ‘Polar amplification of climate change in coupled models’, Clim. Dyn. 21, 221–232.
Ingram, W.: 2006, ‘Detection and attribution of climate change, and understanding solar influence on climate’, Space Sci. Rev., this volume, doi: 10.1007/s11214-006-9057-2.
Jiang, H., Eiriksson, J., Schulz, M., Knudsen, K.-L., and Seidenkrantz, M.-S.: 2005, ‘Evidence for solar forcing of sea-surface temperature on the North icelandic Shelf during the late Holocene’, Geology 33, 73–76.
Jones, P. D. and Mann, M. E.: 2004, ‘Climate over past millenia’, Rev. Geophys. 42, doi:10.29/2003RG000143.
Keigwin, L. D.: 1996, ‘The little ice age and medieval warm period in the Sargasso Sea’, Science 274, 1504–1508.
Kodera, K.: 2006, ‘The role of dynamics in solar forcing’, Space Sci. Rev., this volume, doi: 10.1007/s11214-006-9066-1.
Manabe, S., Stouffer, R. J., Spelman, M. J., and Bryan, K.: 1991, ‘Transient responses of a coupled atmosphere-ocean model to gradual changes of atmospheric CO2. I. Annual mean response’, J. Clim. 4, 785–818.
Mann, M. E., Cane, M. A., Zebiak, S. E., and Clement, A.: 2005, ‘Volcanic and solar forcing of the tropical Pacific over the past 1000 years’, J. Clim. 18, 447–456.
Meehl, G. A., Washington, W. M., Wigley, T. M., Arblaster, J. M., and Dai, A.: 2003, ‘Solar and greenhouse gas forcing and climate response in the twentieth century’, J. Clim. 16, 426–444.
Opsteegh, J. D., Haarsma, R. J., Selten, F. M., and Kattenberg, A.: 1998, ‘ECBILT: A dynamic alternative to mixed boundary conditions in ocean models’, Tellus 50A, 348–367.
Shindell, D., Schmidt, G. A., Mann, M. E., Rind, D., and Waple, A.: 2001, ‘Solar forcing of regional climate change during the Maunder Minimum’, Science 294, 2149–2152.
Stott, P. A., Tett, S. F. B., Jones, G. S., Ingram, W. J., and Mitchell, J. F. B.: 2001, ‘Attribution of twentieth century temperature change to natural and anthopogenic causes’, Clim. Dyn. 17, 1–21.
Tett, S. F. B., et al.: 2005, ‘The impact of natural and anthropogenic forcings on climate and hydrology since 1550’, submitted to Clim. Dyn.
van der Schrier, G. and Barkmeijer, J.: 2005, ‘Bjerknes’ hypothesis on the coldness during A: 1790–1820 revisited’, Clim. Dyn. 24, 335–371.
van der Schrier, G., Weber, S. L., and Drijfhout, S. S.: 2002, ‘Sea level changes in the North Atlantic by solar forcing and internal variability’, Clim. Dyn. 19, 435–447.
Waple, A. M., Mann, M. E., and Bradley, R. S.: 2002, ‘Long-term patterns of solar irradiance forcing in model experiments and proxy based surface temperature reconstructions’, Clim. Dyn. 18, 563–578.
Weber, S. L., Crowley, T. J., and van der Schrier, G.: 2004, ‘Solar irradiance forcing of centennial climate variability during the Holocene’, Clim. Dyn. 22, 539–553.
White, W. B., Cayan, D. R., and Lean, J.: 1998, ‘Global upper ocean heat storage response to radiative frocing from changing solar irradiance and increasing greenhouse gas/aerosol concentration’, J. Geophys. Res. 103, 21,355–21,366.
Zorita, E., von Storch, H., Gonzalez-Rouco, F. J., Cubasch U., Luterbacher, J., Legutke, S., Fischer-Bruns, I., and Schlese, U.: 2004, ‘Climate evolution in the last five centuries simulated by an atmosphere-ocean model: Global temperatures, the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Late Maunder minimum’, Meteorologische Zeitschrift 13, 271–289.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Goosse, H., Renssen, H. (2006). Regional Response of the Climate System to Solar Forcing: The Role of the Ocean. In: Calisesi, Y., Bonnet, R.M., Gray, L., Langen, J., Lockwood, M. (eds) Solar Variability and Planetary Climates. Space Sciences Series of ISSI, vol 23. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-48341-2_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-48341-2_18
Received:
Accepted:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-48339-9
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-48341-2
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)