Williams et al. (2026) State‐Dependence of Polar Amplification in an Idealized GCM

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Geophysical Research Letters
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-06
• Authors: A. O. Williams, Timothy M. Merlis
• DOI: 10.1029/2025gl118423

Research Groups

Not available from the provided abstract.

Short Summary

This study investigates the state-dependence of polar amplification (PA) across various climate conditions using an idealized moist general circulation model, revealing that PA's variability is a superposition of moist thermodynamic effects and the ice-albedo feedback.

Objective

• To examine the state-dependence of polar amplification (PA) across a wide range of climate states, characterized by different global-mean surface temperatures and equator-to-pole surface temperature contrasts.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global to polar regions (equator-to-pole, polar cap).
• Temporal Scale: A wide range of climate states, relevant to contemporary climate change, paleoclimate records, and future projections.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Idealized moist general circulation model.
• Data sources: Model-generated phase space of climate states, perturbed with longwave radiative forcing.

Main Results

• The state-dependence of PA is primarily a superposition of two effects.
• Moist thermodynamics, through latent energy transport, drives stronger PA in climates with higher global-mean surface temperatures and stronger meridional surface temperature gradients.
• The ice-albedo feedback amplifies PA in climates where the climatological ice edge is situated within the polar cap.

Contributions

• Provides a better understanding of the state-dependence of polar amplification across diverse climate conditions.
• Identifies and quantifies the distinct roles of moist thermodynamics (latent energy transport) and the ice-albedo feedback in modulating PA across different climate states.

Funding

Not available from the provided abstract.

Citation

@article{Williams2026StateDependence,
  author = {Williams, A. O. and Merlis, Timothy M.},
  title = {State‐Dependence of Polar Amplification in an Idealized GCM},
  journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2025gl118423},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl118423}
}