The Impact of Cloud Feedbacks on Arctic Climate under Greenhouse Forcing

Abstract The simulation of Arctic cloud cover and the sensitivity of Arctic climate to cloud changes are investigated using an atmosphere–mixed-layer ocean GCM (GENESIS2). The model is run with and without changes in three-dimensional cloud fraction under 2 × CO2 radiative forcing. This model was chosen in part because of its relatively successful representation of modern Arctic cloud cover, a trait attributable to the parameterized treatment of mixed-phase microphysics. Simulated modern Arctic cloud fraction is insensitive to model biases in surface boundary conditions (SSTs and sea ice distribution), but the modeled Arctic climate is sensitive to high-frequency cloud variability. When forced with increased CO2 the model generally simulates more (less) vertically integrated cloudiness in high (low) latitudes. In the simulation without cloud feedbacks, cloud fraction is fixed at its modern control value at all grid points and all levels while CO2 is doubled. Compared with this fixed-cloud experiment, the ...

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