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On the Origin of the Surface Air Temperature Difference between the Hemispheres in Earth's Present-Day Climate

Georg Feulner, Stefan Rahmstorf, Anders Levermann, and Silvia Volkwardt
[...]

Journal of Climate
Vol. 26: 7136-7150 (Volume publication date: September 2013)
DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00636.1
Abstract
In today's climate, the annually averaged surface air temperature in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) is 1°–2°C higher than in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). Historically, this interhemispheric temperature difference has been attributed to a number of factors, including seasonal differences in insolation, the larger area of (tropical) land in the NH, the particularities of the Antarctic in terms of albedo and temperature, and northward heat transport by ocean circulation. A detailed investigation of these factors and their contribution to the temperature difference, however, has to the authors' knowledge not been performed so far. Here the origin of the interhemispheric temperature difference is traced using an assessment of climatological data and the observed energy budget of Earth as well as model simulations. It is found that for the preindustrial climate the temperature difference is predominantly due to meridional heat transport in the oceans, with an additional contribution from the albedo differences between the polar regions. The combination of these factors (that are to some extent coupled) governs the evolution of the temperature difference over the past millennium. Since the beginning of industrialization the interhemispheric temperature difference has increased due to melting of sea ice and snow in the NH. Furthermore, the predicted higher rate of warming over land as compared to the oceans contributes to this increase. Simulations for the twenty-first century show that the interhemispheric temperature difference continues to grow for the highest greenhouse gas emission scenarios due to the land–ocean warming contrast and the strong loss of Arctic sea ice, whereas the decrease in overturning strength dominates for the more moderate scenarios.

Keywords: Energy transport; Ocean circulation; Energy budget/balance; Radiation budgets; Temperature

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AMS Journals © 2014

http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00636.1?journalCode=clim

Kind of reminds me why I gave up trying to pretend that I understand and just accept the consensus.

http://robertscribbler.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/arc_antarc_1979_2012.png?w=600&h=427

BatteriesNotIncluded wrote on Feb 12^th, 2014 at 6:37am:

A detailed investigation of these factors and their contribution to the temperature difference, however, has to the authors' knowledge not been performed so far. Here the origin of the interhemispheric temperature difference is traced using an assessment of climatological data and the observed energy budget of Earth as well as model simulations.

BatteriesNotIncluded wrote on Feb 12^th, 2014 at 6:37am:

Simulations for the twenty-first century show that the interhemispheric temperature difference continues to grow for the highest greenhouse gas emission scenarios due to the land–ocean warming contrast and the strong loss of Arctic sea ice, whereas the decrease in overturning strength dominates for the more moderate scenarios.

Gotta love the models. Those same ones not now used by IPCC. They use an expert panel instead.

lee wrote on Feb 12^th, 2014 at 3:26pm:

Gotta love the models. Those same ones not now used by IPCC. They use an expert panel instead.

Let me guess - Anthony Watts ?

As Australian solar fans considered what the new year will bring in respect of solar energy, news arrived from over the seas of a spectacular bet on solar from one of the world’s richest men. I’m talking of Warren Buffett, the man considered one of the wisest investors in the land (he’s not known as the “Wizard of Omaha” for nothing folks) and his $US2.5 billion swoop for SunPower’s Antelope Valley Solar Projects. The projects are expected to begin construction in 2015.

muso wrote on Feb 12^th, 2014 at 5:23pm:

Let me guess - Anthony Watts ?

'Calculated from projections as 5−95% model ranges. These ranges are then assessed to be likely ranges after accounting for additional uncertainties or different levels of confidence in models. For projections of global mean surface temperature change in 2046−2065 confidence is medium, because the relative importance of natural internal variability, and uncertainty in non-greenhouse gas forcing and response, are larger than for 2081−2100. The likely ranges for 2046−2065 do not take into account the possible influence of factors that lead to the assessed range for near-term (2016−2035) global mean surface temperature change that is lower than the 5−95% model range, because the influence of these factors on longer term projections has not been quantified due to insufficient scientific understanding. {11.3}

http://www.climate2013.org/images/report/WG1AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf

However, the discounted near-term figures were omitted from Table SPM.2.

Cherry picking again? I'm wondering if you will ever actually reply on-topic.

Yes, nothing like picking cherries from the IPCC- the low hanging fruit. ;)

BatteriesNotIncluded wrote on Feb 12^th, 2014 at 5:59pm:

Gotta love Warren Buffet- he's against the Keystone XL pipeline. He's just got into the railway tanker industry.

lee wrote on Feb 12^th, 2014 at 10:00pm:

BatteriesNotIncluded wrote on Feb 12^th, 2014 at 5:59pm:

Gotta love Warren Buffet- he's against the Keystone XL pipeline. He's just got into the railway tanker industry.

FACT TRAIL = GOOD ! CHEERS BIG EARS!

BatteriesNotIncluded wrote on Feb 13^th, 2014 at 1:29am:

FACT TRAIL = GOOD ! CHEERS BIG EARS!

'Tank cars, those torpedo-shaped rail cars built to carry liquids, anything from milk to industrial chemicals, are increasingly being used to carry shale oil. “The traffic has grown significantly, from probably 50,000 carloads a year in 2010 to over 700,000 this year,” says Toby Kolstad, president of the consulting firm Rail Theory Forecasts. “It probably will rise above a million carloads a year in the next year or two.” '

'Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A) owns Union Tank Car, just one piece of his big bet on rail, which also includes the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.'

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-14/2014-outlook-warren-buffett-cashes-in-on-railroad-tank-cars

'CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Plastic shopping bags, an abundant source of litter on land and at sea, can be converted into diesel, natural gas and other useful petroleum products, researchers report.

The conversion produces significantly more energy than it requires and results in transportation fuels – diesel, for example – that can be blended with existing ultra-low-sulfur diesels and biodiesels. Other products, such as natural gas, naphtha (a solvent), gasoline, waxes and lubricating oils such as engine oil and hydraulic oil also can be obtained from shopping bags.

The team produced equivalents of (from left to right, in vials) gasoline, diesel #1, diesel #2, and vacuum gas oil.
Credit: L. Brian Stauffer

A report of the new study appears in the journal Fuel Processing Technology.

There are other advantages to the approach, which involves heating the bags in an oxygen-free chamber, a process called pyrolysis, said Brajendra Kumar Sharma, a senior research scientist at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center who led the research. The ISTC is a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois.

“You can get only 50 to 55 percent fuel from the distillation of petroleum crude oil,” Sharma said. “But since this plastic is made from petroleum in the first place, we can recover almost 80 percent fuel from it through distillation.” '

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/02/12/those-much-maligned-plastic-grocery-bags-can-run-your-diesel-truck-or-car/#more-103114

muso wrote on Feb 12^th, 2014 at 8:57pm:

Cherry picking again? I'm wondering if you will ever actually reply on-topic.

I wonder; could all those off-topic posts be considered SPAM?

Australian Politics Forum
http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl Member Run Boards >> Environment >> Interesting or not?!!? http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1392148718 Message started by Deathridesahorse on Feb 12^th, 2014 at 5:58am