Observational Evidence for Desert Amplification Using Multiple Satellite Datasets

Scientific Reports
Nan WeiWenjian Hua

Abstract

Desert amplification identified in recent studies has large uncertainties due to data paucity over remote deserts. Here we present observational evidence using multiple satellite-derived datasets that desert amplification is a real large-scale pattern of warming mode in near surface and low-tropospheric temperatures. Trend analyses of three long-term temperature products consistently confirm that near-surface warming is generally strongest over the driest climate regions and this spatial pattern of warming maximizes near the surface, gradually decays with height, and disappears in the upper troposphere. Short-term anomaly analyses show a strong spatial and temporal coupling of changes in temperatures, water vapor and downward longwave radiation (DLR), indicating that the large increase in DLR drives primarily near surface warming and is tightly associated with increasing water vapor over deserts. Atmospheric soundings of temperature and water vapor anomalies support the results of the long-term temperature trend analysis and suggest that desert amplification is due to comparable warming and moistening effects of the troposphere. Likely, desert amplification results from the strongest water vapor feedbacks near the surface over ...Continue Reading

References

Aug 25, 2004·Science·Randal D KosterUNKNOWN GLACE Team
Nov 8, 2007·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Liming ZhouYongjiu Dai
Aug 20, 2016·Scientific Reports·Liming Zhou

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Citations

Dec 13, 2019·Scientific Reports·Go-Un KimDeliang Chen
Nov 28, 2020·Scientific Reports·Mehmet Dikici

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
RSS

Software Mentioned

RSS
GISS
UAH
LSAT
TMT
NCAR Command Language
TLT
RSSv3

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