The Atmospheric Response to a Stratospheric Dust Cloud as Simulated by a General Circulation Model
Abstract
Results of using the Rand version of the Mintz-Arakawa general circulation model to investigate the initial atmospheric response to a stratospheric dust cloud spread uniformly in a zone between twenty-five degrees north and seventy-five degrees north. The dust particles, construed to be two microns or less in diameter, have a total volume comparable to the ejecta of Krakatoa in 1883. The model was integrated for a simulated period corresponding to January and February, the results being compared with those of a control run starting with the same initial conditions and simulating the same period. The temperature below the dust cloud cooled two to three degrees and the land/ocean temperature contrasts increased. Precipitation varied as a result of changes in the circulation and moisture flux. Midlatitude Ferrel circulations were weakened; baroclinicity decreased at high latitudes and increased at low.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1974
- Accession Number
- AD0780679
Entities
People
- E. S. Batten
Organizations
- RAND Corporation