Donohoe et al. (2026) An Energetic Perspective on Heat Waves Using a Fixed Atmospheric Mass Calculation of Instantaneous Atmospheric Heat Flux Convergence

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Climate
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-15
• Authors: Aaron Donohoe, Edward Blanchard‐Wrigglesworth, Nicole Feldl
• DOI: 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0261.1

Research Groups

Not specified in the abstract.

Short Summary

This study analyzes the global atmospheric energy budget on daily timescales, finding that atmospheric heat transport convergence is the dominant energy input for heating events, which require approximately 1000 W m⁻² of energy, and provides a framework for understanding heat wave intensity.

Objective

• To analyze the global atmospheric energy budget and instantaneous atmospheric heat flux convergence on daily timescales.
• To understand the controls on heat wave intensity by relating atmospheric heating to surface temperature variance, considering the temporal duration of heating events, the fraction of atmospheric energy input that goes into moistening versus warming the atmosphere, and the vertical structure of temperature changes during heating events.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global
• Temporal Scale: Daily

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not specified in the abstract.
• Data sources: Not specified in the abstract. The analysis is based on a fixed atmospheric mass calculation of instantaneous atmospheric heat flux convergence.

Main Results

• Typical atmospheric heating events require an energy input of approximately 1000 W m⁻² to the atmosphere.
• The required energy input is predominantly provided by atmospheric heat transport convergence.
• The temporal variability of energy inputs by surface turbulent fluxes and radiation are an order of magnitude smaller than atmospheric heat transport convergence.
• Atmospheric temperature variability is primarily set by the magnitude of variability in lateral energy fluxes in the atmosphere.
• Surface heat wave intensity is damped by the moisture storage contribution by a factor of four in the tropics.
• Surface heat wave intensity is amplified by the vertical structure of temperature by almost an order of magnitude over extratropical landmasses as compared to the ocean.

Contributions

• Provides a framework for understanding the controls on heat wave intensity.
• Quantifies the dominant energy inputs to the atmosphere during heating events.
• Highlights the significant roles of moisture storage and vertical temperature structure in modulating surface heat wave intensity across different climatic regions.

Funding

Not specified in the abstract.

Citation

@article{Donohoe2026Energetic,
  author = {Donohoe, Aaron and Blanchard‐Wrigglesworth, Edward and Feldl, Nicole},
  title = {An Energetic Perspective on Heat Waves Using a Fixed Atmospheric Mass Calculation of Instantaneous Atmospheric Heat Flux Convergence},
  journal = {Journal of Climate},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1175/jcli-d-25-0261.1},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-25-0261.1}
}