HR: 11:00h
AN: A52B-03 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Modelled response of short term solar related cloud cover changes over Antarctica
AU: * Kniveton, D R
EM: d.r.kniveton@sussex.ac.uk
AF: University of Sussex, Falmer Brighton East Sussex BN1 9QJ, Brighton, BN1 9QJ United Kingdom
AU: Williams, C J
EM: c.j.r.williams@sussex.ac.uk
AF: University of Sussex, Falmer Brighton East Sussex BN1 9QJ, Brighton, BN1 9QJ United Kingdom
AB: Contrary to the key findings of researchers looking at possible linkages between long term cloud and solar/GCR variability, investigations of cloud changes at shorter timescales have indicated most response at high altitudes and over polar (particularly Antarctic) regions rather than at low altitude and at lower latitudes. Whilst such results are welcomed because these higher altitude and latitude regions would be expected to have the highest exposure to solar related phenomena it presents a problem to monitoring these cloud changes as these regions are either inaccessible by in-situ measurements or present retrieval problems to remote sensing measurement. Hence several authors have relied upon measurements of other climate variables that are taken as indicators of cloud changes such as changes in temperature. The controversy of whether evidence exists that these `proxy' indicators show a response to short term changes in solar related activity is understandable due to the complex meteorology of polar regions. In this paper the preliminary results of a regional climate model, the PRECIS model (which is a regional version of the UK Meteorological Office Unified Model) centred over Antarctica, and that has been adjusted to mimic possible cloud cover responses to solar related phenomena, are presented. These results indicate the expected climate response of solar related cloud cover changes over the Antarctica.
DE: 0321 Cloud/radiation interaction
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005