Uncertainty in the response of clouds to global warming remains a
significant barrier to reducing uncertainty in climate sensitivity. A
key question is the extent to which the dynamic component -- that which
is due to changes in circulation rather than changes in the
thermodynamic properties of clouds -- contributes to the total cloud
feedback. Here, simulations with a range of cloud-resolving models are
used to quantify the impact of circulation changes on tropical cloud
feedbacks. The dynamic component of the cloud feedback is substantial
for some models and is controlled both by SST-induced changes in
circulation and nonlinearity in the climatological relationship between
clouds and circulation. Differences in the longwave and shortwave
dynamic components across models are linked to the extent to which
ascending regions narrow or expand in response to a change in SST. The
diversity of changes in ascent area is coupled to intermodel differences
non-radiative diabatic heating in ascending regions.