Thermodynamic regulation of ocean warming by cirrus clouds deduced from observations of the 1987 El Niño

Ramanathan, V. and Collins, W. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4463-9848 (1991) Thermodynamic regulation of ocean warming by cirrus clouds deduced from observations of the 1987 El Niño. Nature, 351 (6321). pp. 27-32. ISSN 0028-0836

Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)

Abstract

Observations made during the 1987 El Niño show that in the upper range of sea surface temperatures, the greenhouse effect increases with surface temperature at a rate which exceeds the rate at which radiation is being emitted from the surface. In response to this 'super greenhouse effect', highly reflective cirrus clouds are produced which act like a thermostat shielding the ocean from solar radiation. The regulatory effect of these cirrus clouds may limit sea surface temperatures to less than 305 K.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	general ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1000
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
Related URLs:	https://www.scopus.com/pages/publication...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	07 Jul 2026 13:15
Last Modified:	08 Jul 2026 14:34
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/103759
DOI:	10.1038/351027a0

Actions (login required)

View Item