Publication Abstracts
Roach et al. 2023
, I. Eisenman, T. Wagner, and A. Donohoe, 2023: Asymmetry in the seasonal cycle of zonal-mean surface air temperature. Geophys. Res. Lett., 50, no. 10, e2023GL103403, doi:10.1029/2023GL103403.
At most latitudes, the zonal-mean seasonal cycle of surface temperature is notably asymmetric: the length of the warming season is not equal to the length of the cooling season. The asymmetry varies spatially, with the cooling season 40 days shorter than the warming season in the subtropics and the warming season 100 days shorter than the cooling season at the poles. Furthermore, the asymmetry is more positive in the Southern hemisphere than the Northern hemisphere. Here, we show that these observed features are broadly captured in a simple model for the evolution of temperature forced by realistic insolation. The model suggests that Earth's orbital eccentricity largely determines the hemispheric contrast, and obliquity broadly dictates the meridional structure. Clouds, atmospheric heat flux convergence and time-invariant effective surface heat capacity have minimal impacts on seasonal asymmetry. This simple, first-order picture has been absent from previous discussions of the surface temperature seasonal cycle.
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BibTeX Citation
@article{ro09810h,
author={Roach, L. A. and Eisenman, I. and Wagner, T. and Donohoe, A.},
title={Asymmetry in the seasonal cycle of zonal-mean surface air temperature},
year={2023},
journal={Geophysical Research Letters},
volume={50},
number={10},
pages={e2023GL103403},
doi={10.1029/2023GL103403},
}
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RIS Citation
TY - JOUR ID - ro09810h AU - Roach, L. A. AU - Eisenman, I. AU - Wagner, T. AU - Donohoe, A. PY - 2023 TI - Asymmetry in the seasonal cycle of zonal-mean surface air temperature JA - Geophys. Res. Lett. JO - Geophysical Research Letters VL - 50 IS - 10 SP - e2023GL103403 DO - 10.1029/2023GL103403 ER -
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