Surface temperature responses to aerosol and cloud radiative perturbations are complicated by the underlying land surface processes. To disentangle this complexity, this study investigates the role of land surfaces in the radiative effects of aerosols and clouds on surface temperature from a terrestrial surface energy budget perspective using the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Earth System Model version 1.2.1 (CESM1.2.1). It is found that land cover enhances the spatial variation of the temperature response to aerosol direct radiative effects (DRE) and cloud radiative effects (CRE) during daytime and nighttime respectively while it reduces that of the temperature response to CRE during the daytime by collocation of local surface climate sensitivity and aerosol DRE and CRE. With identical anthropogenic aerosol emissions over eight major emission regions in the past, present and future projections including Brazil, China, East Africa, India, Indonesia, South Africa, the United States and Western Europe, local temperature responses to aerosol DRE (CRE) are more strongly regulated by land cover in the daytime (nighttime).

Land Cover, Aerosol Radiative Effects, Cloud Radiative Effects, Temperature Response