Emerging hemispheric asymmetry of Earth's radiation.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41021814.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.2511595122 and PMC identifier 12519167.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Twenty-four years of satellite observations from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System show a northern hemisphere (NH) minus southern hemisphere (SH) trend difference of 0.34 ± 0.23 Wm<sup>-2</sup> dec<sup>-1</sup> (5 to 95% CI) in absorbed solar radiation (ASR) and a weaker trend difference of 0.21 ± 0.21 Wm<sup>-2</sup> dec<sup>-1</sup> in outgoing longwave radiation. The emerging darkening of the NH relative to the SH is associated with changes in hemispheric differences in aerosol-radiation interactions, surface albedo, and water vapor changes. Cloud changes also contribute to a greater ASR hemispheric contrast, but the magnitude is small due to opposing trend differences in the tropics and extratropics. The break in hemispheric symmetry in ASR challenges the notion that clouds naturally compensate for forced hemispheric asymmetries in noncloud properties. Hemispheric (a)symmetry in radiation is linked with the atmosphere-ocean general circulation. How clouds respond to this hemispheric imbalance has important implications for future climate.