The sensitivity of a coupled atmospheric-oceanic model to variations in the albedo and absorptivity of a stratospheric aerosol layer

Considerable uncertainty exists regarding the precise physical parameters of a smoke or aerosol cloud that would be injected into the lower stratosphere by a catastrophic event such as a nuclear war, a major volcanic eruption, or an asteroid impact. In this paper, the sensitivity of the sea surface temperature of a one-dimensional coupled atmospheric-oceanic model to variations in the albedo and absorptivity of an aerosol cloud introduced into the lower stratosphere is examined. Zonally averaged results are produced for two latitudes in the southern hemisphere. The temperature response of the oceans to forcings by a cloud with realistic aerosol properties is examined, with particular emphasis on the impact on the surface climate on time scales of 6 months to 2 years