The Role of Anthropogenic Aerosol in Atmospheric Circulation Changes

Changes in atmospheric circulation patterns play a dominant role in determining the impacts of a changing climate at the continental scale. Using CMIP5 single forcing experiments from an ensemble of models that provided anthropogenic aerosol only simulations to the archive, we quantify the influence of anthropogenic aerosol on several aspects of the atmospheric circulation, including tropical width, jet position, and jet strength. We show that there is a robust circulation response to anthropogenic aerosol in the mid twentieth century, induced by the large increases in emissions at that time. Although most anthropogenic aerosol is found in the Northern Hemisphere, a response is found in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. We investigate the extent to which diversity in the temperature and circulation responses to aerosol are related to diversity in aerosol loading and radiative forcing.