Abstract
A paradoxical negative greenhouse effect has been found over the Antarctic Plateau, indicating that greenhouse gases enhance energy loss to space. Using 13 years of NASA satellite observations, we verify the existence of the negative greenhouse effect and find that the magnitude and sign of the effect varies seasonally and spectrally. A previous explanation attributes this effect solely to stratospheric CO2; however, we surprisingly find that the negative greenhouse effect is predominantly caused by tropospheric water vapor. A recently developed principle-based concept is used to provide a complete account of the Antarctic Plateau’s negative greenhouse effect indicating that it is controlled by the vertical variation of temperature and greenhouse gas absorption. Our findings indicate that unique climatological conditions over the Antarctic Plateau—a strong surface-based temperature inversion and scarcity of free tropospheric water vapor—cause the negative greenhouse effect.
Highlights
IntroductionThe atmosphere is transparent to incoming solar radiation and opaque to outgoing infrared radiation
Analogous to a greenhouse, the atmosphere is transparent to incoming solar radiation and opaque to outgoing infrared radiation
1234567890():,; Unmasking the negative greenhouse effect over the Antarctic in October, there is a reduction of the water vapor negative GHE
Summary
The atmosphere is transparent to incoming solar radiation and opaque to outgoing infrared radiation. First postulated by Fourier in 1824,2 this atmospheric warming effect keeps the Earth from being a desolate ice ball by enabling liquid water to flow freely; setting the stage for complex life to develop and evolve.[3] Aside from variations in solar output, changes in the greenhouse effect (GHE) have driven temperature change throughout Earth’s history and are currently driving anthropogenic climate change through increased carbon dioxide (CO2),[4] whose specific warming qualities were discovered by Tyndall[5] and implications for global climate first postulated by Arrhenius.[6] Greenhouse gases such as CO2 warm the planet by absorbing the upward longwave (LW) radiation (i.e., infrared radiation) emanating from the surface. The strength of the GHE can be quantified by subtracting the outgoing LW radiation (OLR) from the surface LW emission at the same location, with larger positive values indicating a stronger GHE.[8,9]
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