Facets of the Tropical High-Cloud Feedback in a Global Storm-Resolving Model

Facets of the Tropical High-Cloud Feedback in a Global Storm-Resolving Model | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Facets of the Tropical High-Cloud Feedback in a Global Storm-Resolving Model Jakob Deutloff, Stefan Buehler, Julia Windmiller, Ann Kristin Naumann This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9133974/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Tropical high clouds are the cloud type that contributes most to the uncertainty in climate sensitivity, as their feedback on global warming remains poorly constrained. One reason for this is that global circulation models (GCMs) do not resolve the full spectrum of high clouds, ranging from thin cirrus to thick deep convective clouds. We use a set of storm-resolving aquaplanet simulations that resolve this spectrum to investigate how high clouds with different thicknesses contribute to the total high-cloud feedback. We find that the total feedback is positive, arising from all high clouds remaining at fixed temperatures and from an intensification of the diurnal cycle of deep convection. Fixed high-cloud temperatures require an interactive representation of ozone. Prescribing ozone, as often done in GCMs, results in an unrealistic warming of high clouds and hence a less positive feedback. Thick clouds produced by deep convection partly shift from daytime to nighttime in response to surface warming. This reduces sunlight reflection and results in a previously unrecognised positive feedback. The reduction of high clouds in response to warming, assumed to produce a negative feedback, affects thin (warming) and thick (cooling) clouds equally in our simulations, resulting in a near-neutral feedback. By resolving cloud thickness, our storm-resolving simulations show that heterogeneous high-cloud responses to warming combine to yield a positive total feedback. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences High-Cloud Feedback Fixed Anvil Temperature Diurnal Cycle Climate Sensitivity Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files supplement.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 21 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 07 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 21 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 17 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 17 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 16 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9133974","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":612724761,"identity":"8271e765-3506-47b8-9da1-d389aa916e8f","order_by":0,"name":"Jakob Deutloff","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Universität Hamburg","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jakob","middleName":"","lastName":"Deutloff","suffix":""},{"id":612724762,"identity":"48e8ec0d-2681-4e1e-aa84-cb5a29173fe3","order_by":1,"name":"Stefan Buehler","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universität Hamburg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Stefan","middleName":"","lastName":"Buehler","suffix":""},{"id":612724763,"identity":"c92d8e25-cf7e-48c7-8179-13fc5b04fb96","order_by":2,"name":"Julia Windmiller","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Monash University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Julia","middleName":"","lastName":"Windmiller","suffix":""},{"id":612724764,"identity":"5289bc6f-7723-465f-94c6-acd903026bc3","order_by":3,"name":"Ann Kristin Naumann","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ann","middleName":"Kristin","lastName":"Naumann","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-16 06:53:52","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9133974/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9133974/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105823481,"identity":"1d4f05b0-5d5f-4f4a-bffb-6642c263de34","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-31 13:38:11","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":425512,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9133974/v1_covered_23ced92e-6a69-4159-b9fa-8b6e1357447e.pdf"},{"id":105823477,"identity":"25883c0f-df3b-4030-b5c0-f72df2a1fc1d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-31 13:37:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":403460,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"supplement.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9133974/v1/12c3661ae09567a1d5294823.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Facets of the Tropical High-Cloud Feedback in a Global Storm-Resolving Model","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":true,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"npj-climate-and-atmospheric-science","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"npjclimatsci","sideBox":"Learn more about [npj Climate and Atmospheric Science](http://www.nature.com/npjclimatsci/)","snPcode":"41612","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41612/3","title":"npj Climate and Atmospheric Science","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"NPJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"High-Cloud Feedback, Fixed Anvil Temperature, Diurnal Cycle, Climate Sensitivity","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9133974/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9133974/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Tropical high clouds are the cloud type that contributes most to the uncertainty in climate sensitivity, as their feedback on global warming remains poorly constrained. One reason for this is that global circulation models (GCMs) do not resolve the full spectrum of high clouds, ranging from thin cirrus to thick deep convective clouds. We use a set of storm-resolving aquaplanet simulations that resolve this spectrum to investigate how high clouds with different thicknesses contribute to the total high-cloud feedback. We find that the total feedback is positive, arising from all high clouds remaining at fixed temperatures and from an intensification of the diurnal cycle of deep convection. Fixed high-cloud temperatures require an interactive representation of ozone. Prescribing ozone, as often done in GCMs, results in an unrealistic warming of high clouds and hence a less positive feedback. Thick clouds produced by deep convection partly shift from daytime to nighttime in response to surface warming. This reduces sunlight reflection and results in a previously unrecognised positive feedback. 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