Separating the shortwave and longwave components of greenhouse gas radiative forcing

Many important greenhouse gases (including water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone) absorb solar radiation. When gas concentrations change, this absorption exerts a radiative forcing that modifies the thermal infrared (‘longwave’) which is predominant for most (ozone being major exception). The nature of differs from longwave in several ways. For example, sign instantaneous can differ between tropopause top-of-atmosphere, gases. In addition, significant part be manifested longwave, following stratospheric temperature adjustment, counteract or enhance forcing. Here examined via mixture idealised more realistic calculations, consider effect perturbations ozone. An apparent contradiction dioxide resolved; it shown to negative, reducing net by about 2.3%. relevance work effective concept also discussed.