Showing papers by "Gerald L. Potter published in 1996"
TL;DR: The authors compared the climate sensitivity of 19 atmospheric general circulation models and found a roughly threefold variation among the models; most of this variation was attributed to differences in the models' depictions of cloud feedback.
Abstract: Six years ago, we compared the climate sensitivity of 19 atmospheric general circulation models and found a roughly threefold variation among the models; most of this variation was attributed to differences in the models' depictions of cloud feedback. In an update of this comparison, current models showed considerably smaller differences in net cloud feedback, with most producing modest values. There are, however, substantial differences in the feedback components, indicating that the models still have physical disagreements.
323 citations
01 Jan 1996
TL;DR: In this paper, a selected set of AMIP models showed that the tropical shortwave cloud radiative forcing is systematically too strong when compared to satellite observations, and the models also produced a negative systematic error in cloud amount when compared with ISCCP in the extratropics.
Abstract: Model output from a selected set of AMIP models shows that the tropical shortwave cloud radiative forcing is systematically too strong when compared to satellite observations. The models also produce a negative systematic error in cloud amount when compared to ISCCP in the extratropics. The cloud amount error accounts for much of the error in short-wave cloud forcing because short-wave cloud forcing has a linear dependence on cloud amount. Some of the errors in short-wave cloud radiative forcing cannot be explained by errors in cloud amount and may be due to errors in cloud optical properties.