19 July, 2019

Different response of surface temperature and air temperature to deforestation in climate models

Authors

Johannes Winckler, Christian Reick, Sebastiaan Luyssaert, Alessandro Cescatti, Paul Stoy, Quentin Lejeune, Thomas Raddatz, Andreas Chlond, Marvin Heidkamp, Julia Pongratz

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Choice of temperature variable used when modelling deforestation has a huge effect on temp change.

When quantifying temperature changes induced by deforestation, satellite data, in situ observations, and climate models measure and simulate at different temperature heights.

This study compares the effects of deforestation on surface temperature, near-surface air temperature, and lower atmospheric temperature using the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM). The single-model results are subsequently compared to data from multiple models from the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5).

The study shows that the choice of temperature variable has a considerable effect on the observed and simulated temperature change.

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