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                

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.

Keywords

Climate Feedback; Feedback Analysis; Lapse-Rate Feedback

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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