Tropical High Cloud Feedback Relationships to Climate Sensitivity

Abstract

Clouds constitute a large portion of uncertainty in predictions of equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS). While low cloud feedbacks have been the focus of intermodel studies due to their high variability among global climate models, tropical high cloud feedbacks also exhibit considerable uncertainty. Here, we apply the cloud radiative kernel technique of Zelinka et al. to 22 models across the CMIP5 and CMIP6 ensembles to survey tropical high cloud feedbacks and analyze their relationship to ECS. We find that the net high cloud feedback and its altitude and optical depth feedback components are significantly positively correlated with ECS in the tropical mean. On the other hand, the tropical mean high cloud amount feedback is not correlated with ECS. These relationships are most pronounced outside of areas of strong climatological ascent, suggesting the importance of thin cirrus feedbacks. Finally, we explore connections between high cloud feedbacks, climate sensitivity, and mean state high cloud properties. In general, high ECS models are cloudier in the upper troposphere but have a thinner high cloud population. Furthermore, we find that having more thin cirrus in the mean state relates to more positive high cloud altitude and optical depth feedbacks, and it either amplifies or dampens the high cloud amount feedback depending on the large-scale dynamical regime (amplifying in descent and dampening in ascent). In summary, our analysis highlights the importance of tropical high cloud feedbacks for driving intermodel spread in ECS and suggests that mean state high cloud characteristics might provide a unique opportunity for observationally constraining high cloud feedbacks.