HR: 1340h
AN: A43D-0121    [Abstracts]
TI: Anthropogenic Greenhouse Forcing and Strong Water Vapor Feedback Increase Temperature in Europe
AU: * Philipona, R
A43D-0121 AF: Observatory Davos, Dorfstrasse 33, Davos Dorf, 7260 Switzerland
AU: Duerr, B
A43D-0121 AF: MeteoSwiss, Krahbuhlstr.58, Zurich, 8044 Switzerland
AU: Ruckstuhl, C
A43D-0121 AF: IACETH Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 59, Zurich, 8057 Switzerland
AU: Ohmura, A
A43D-0121 AF: IACETH Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 59, Zurich, 8057 Switzerland
AB: Europe's temperature increases considerably faster than the northern hemisphere average. Detailed month-by-month analyses show temperature and humidity changes for individual months that are similar for all Europe, indicating large-scale weather patterns uniformly influencing temperature. However, superimposed to these changes a strong west-east gradient is observed for all months. The gradual temperature and humidity increases from west to east are not related to circulation but must be due to non-uniform water vapour feedback. Surface radiation measurements in central Europe manifest anthropogenic greenhouse forcing and strong water vapor feedback, enhancing the forcing and temperature rise by about a factor of three. Solar radiation decreases and changing cloud amounts show small net radiative effects. However, high correlation of increasing cloud-free longwave downward radiation with temperature (r=0.99) and absolute humidity (r=0.89), and high correlation between ERA-40 integrated water vapor and CRU surface temperature changes (r =0.84), demonstrates greenhouse forcing with strong water vapor feedback.
DE: 0321 Cloud/radiation interaction
DE: 0360 Radiation: transmission and scattering
DE: 1610 Atmosphere (0315, 0325)
DE: 1637 Regional climate change
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005