Quasi-invariance of tropical meridional surface temperature gradient in a wide range of climates.

ABSTRACT: Compared to the well-known polar amplification in a warmer or cooler world, the trend of tropical surface air temperature gradient is frequently overlooked. Through analyzing various observations, assimilation data, proxy data, and modeling, here we show that annual- and zonal-mean tropical (30^oS-30^oN) meridional surface air temperature gradient (TMSTG) exhibits small changes in a wide range of climates from extremely cold to extremely hot. This phenomenon is robust to CO₂ concentration, solar constant, land-sea configuration, vegetation coverage, heat transport, and cloud parameterization. The quasi-invariance of the TMSTG is maintained by the small gradient of incoming solar radiation and by the dynamics of horizontal weak temperature gradient (WTG) and c

SUBMITTER: Wei M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12775423 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature