New paper: A. Kleidon, M. Renner, “A simple explanation for the sensitivity of the hydrologic cycle to surface temperature and solar radiation and its implications for global climate change”, Earth System Dynamics, 4, 455-465, 2013, open access.

I have not yet read it thouroughly, but it’s high in priority.  To the extent I understand and think I have something to say, I’ll comment here, with an edit of this post.

To pique your interest, as I bet it has for much of the technically-minided, climate-concerned world, here’s a brief quote from their Abstract:

We illustrate an implication of this explanation for geoengineering, which aims to undo surface temperature differences by solar radiation management. Our results show that when such an intervention compensates surface warming, it cannot simultaneously compensate the changes in hydrologic cycling because of the differences in sensitivities for solar vs. greenhouse-induced surface warming.

More later.