The Evidence for Two-Way Feedbacks Between Cloud Processes and Large Scale Climate Variability over the Southern Oceans

Abstract:

Large scale patterns of climate variability over the Southern Oceans have been widely examined in the context of dry atmospheric dynamics but less so in the context of two-way interactions with clouds. In this talk I will survey the emerging evidence for feedbacks between large scale climate variability and cloud processes over the Southern Oceans. Observational and numerical analyses reveal that large-scale patterns of Southern Hemisphere climate variability have a pronounced signature not only in cloud incidence but also in cloud radiative forcing. Numerical experiments suggest that cloud processes, in turn, may play a key role in determining the structure and amplitude of hemispheric scale dynamic variability. Implications for climate variability on a range of timescales is discussed.