On the sensitivity of a general circulation model climatology to changes in cloud structure and radiative properties

A numerical study, using a general circulation model of the atmosphere, has been carried out to investigate the sensitivity of the model-generated climatologies to changes in the cloud characteristics. In particular, we have investigated the effects of lowering the cloud base by 200 mb and, in a separate experiment, the effects of changing the solar radiative properties of the clouds. The results of this study indicate that the model-generated climatology is more sensitive to changing the radiative properties than to altering the cloud base position. Large-scale changes occur in the surface heat budget and hydrological cycle. These conclusions indicate the need for more accurate studies of cloud systems and their parameterization in numerical models. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1982.tb01789.x

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