Strengthening of convective mass fluxes despite weakening of the mean circulation in super-parameterized warming simulations

Previous work has established that warming is associated with an increase in dry static stability, a weakening of the tropical circulation, and a decrease in the lower-tropospheric convective mass flux. Using both idealized and realistic global warming simulations with super-parameterized convection, we find that the weakening of the tropical circulation can occur at the same time as a strengthening of the middle- and upper-tropospheric convective mass flux. Our analysis shows that this strengthening results from changes in the stratiform heating and “environmental” vertical motion that occur in the spaces between the convective clouds.