Office of Biological and Environmental Research Weekly Report

March 30, 2009

China Cloud and Aerosol Data Available from DOE ARM Mobile Facility. Data collected by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF) in Shouxian, China, during the Aerosol Indirect Effects Study in China from May through December 2008 are now in the ARM Data Archive. This experiment was anchored by the AMF in Shouxian and included an additional instrumented site to the east at Lake Taihu and two instrumented sites to the north. Data from the two northern sites are being processed and will be available in the next week. These extensive measurements of clouds, aerosols, radiation, and precipitation will help scientists to examine the role of aerosols in affecting the regional climate and atmospheric circulation across the Pacific Rim. These data are also important for improving and evaluating the global climate models.

Media Interest: No.

Contact: Wanda Ferrell, SC-23.1, (301) 903- 3281

What Caused the mid-1970s Climate Anomaly? Evaluating the Role of Humans Versus Nature. Observations indicate there was a significant shift in the mid-1970s from cooler to warmer tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs). The cause of these basin-wide SST anomalies with global impacts has been a topic of scientific debate. In a recent paper, DOE-funded scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado and the Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory analyzed observations and climate model simulations to investigate the 1970s climate anomaly. Results show the 1970s climate shift in the Pacific SST was a combination of warming due to human-produced greenhouse gases superimposed on what was likely a natural decadal fluctuation of the Pacific climate system. Determining the relative roles of human influence versus naturally-occurring internal variability is important for understanding climate fluctuations that have already been observed. This knowledge is also important for the new field of decadal climate prediction with the challenge of estimating regional climate anomalies over the next several decades with contributions from both inherent climate variability and external forcing from human activities.

Reference: Meehl, G. A., A. Hu, and B.D. Santer, 2009: The mid-1970s climate shift in the Pacific and the relative roles of forced versus inherent decadal variability, J. Climate, 22, 780--792.

Media Interest: No

Contact: Anjuli Bamzai, SC-23.1, (301) 903-0294