Temperature-Profile/Lapse-Rate Feedback: A Misunderstood Feedback of the Climate System ()
Michael E. Schlesinger,
C. Bruce Entwistle,
Bin Li
Aviation Weather Center, National Weather Service, Kansas City, USA.
Climate Research Group, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, USA.
I. M. Systems Group, Inc. at EMC/NCEP/NOAA, College Park, USA.
DOI: 10.4236/acs.2012.24041
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Abstract
This study shows that the heretofore assumed condition for no temperature-profile (TP)/lapse-rate feedback, for all altitudes z, or , in fact yields a negative feedback. The correct condition for no TP feedback is for all z, where Ts is the surface temperature. This condition translates into a uniform increase (decrease) in lapse rate with altitude for an increase (decrease) in Ts. The temperature changes caused by a change in solar irradiance and/or planetary albedo satisfy the condition for no TP feedback. The temperature changes caused by a change in greenhouse gas concentration do not satisfy the condition for no TP feedback and, instead, yield a positive feedback.
Share and Cite:
M. E. Schlesinger, C. Bruce Entwistle and B. Li, "Temperature-Profile/Lapse-Rate Feedback: A Misunderstood Feedback of the Climate System," Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, Vol. 2 No. 4, 2012, pp. 474-478. doi: 10.4236/acs.2012.24041.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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