scholarly journals Variability in the speed of the Brewer–Dobson circulation as observed by Aura/MLS

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4563-4575 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Flury ◽  
D. L. Wu ◽  
W. G. Read
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Meridional Circulation ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Stratospheric Water Vapour

Abstract. We use Aura/MLS stratospheric water vapour (H2O) measurements as tracer for dynamics and infer interannual variations in the speed of the Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC) from 2004 to 2011. We correlate one-year time series of H2O in the lower stratosphere at two subsequent pressure levels (68 hPa, ~18.8 km and 56 hPa, ~19.9 km at the Equator) and determine the time lag for best correlation. The same calculation is made on the horizontal on the 100 hPa (~16.6 km) level by correlating the H2O time series at the Equator with the ones at 40° N and 40° S. From these lag coefficients we derive the vertical and horizontal speeds of the BDC in the tropics and extra-tropics, respectively. We observe a clear interannual variability of the vertical and horizontal branch. The variability reflects signatures of the Quasi Biennial Oscillation (QBO). Our measurements confirm the QBO meridional circulation anomalies and show that the speed variations in the two branches of the BDC are out of phase and fairly well anti-correlated. Maximum ascent rates are found during the QBO easterly phase. We also find that transport of H2O towards the Northern Hemisphere (NH) is on the average two times faster than to the Southern Hemisphere (SH) with a mean speed of 1.15 m s−1 at 100 hPa. Furthermore, the speed towards the NH shows much more interannual variability with an amplitude of about 21% whilst the speed towards the SH varies by only 10%. An amplitude of 21% is also observed in the variability of the ascent rate at the Equator which is on the average 0.2 mm s−1.

scholarly journals Variability of the Brewer-Dobson circulation's meridional and vertical branch using Aura/MLS water vapor

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 21291-21320 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Flury ◽  
D. L. Wu ◽  
W. G. Read
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Water Vapor ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Meridional Circulation ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Stratospheric Water Vapor ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Biennial Oscillation

Abstract. We use Aura/MLS stratospheric water vapor measurements to infer interannual variations in the speed of the Brewer-Dobson circulation (BDC) from 2004 to 2011. Stratospheric water vapor (H2O) is utilized as a tracer for dynamics and we follow its path along the vertical and meridional branch of the BDC from the tropics to mid-latitudes. We correlate one year time series of H2O in the lower stratosphere at two subsequent altitude levels (68 hPa, ~18.8 km and 56 hPa, ~19.9 km at the Equator) and determine the time lag for best correlation. The same calculation is made on the horizontal on the 100 hPa (~16.6 km) level by correlating the H2O time series at the Equator with the ones at 40° N and 40° S. From these lag coefficients we derive the vertical and horizontal speeds of the BDC in the tropics and extra-tropics respectively. We observe a clear interannual variability of the vertical and horizontal branch. The variability reflects signatures of the Quasi Biennial Oscillation (QBO). Our measurements confirm the QBO meridional circulation anomalies and show that the speed variations in the two branches of the BDC are out of phase and fairly well anti-correlated. Maximum ascent rates are found during the QBO easterly phase. We also find that the transport towards the Northern Hemisphere (NH) is on the average two times faster than to the Southern Hemisphere (SH) with a mean speed of 1.15 m s−1 at 100 hPa. Furthermore, the speed towards the NH shows much more variability with an amplitude of about 21% whilst the speed towards the SH varies by only 10%. An amplitude of 21% is also observed in the variability of the ascent rate at the Equator which is on the average 0.2 mm s−1 and hence about 5000 times slower than the meridional branch.

scholarly journals Stratospheric ozone interannual variability (1995–2011) as observed by Lidar and Satellite at Mauna Loa Observatory, HI and Table Mountain Facility, CA

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 30825-30867
Author(s):  
G. Kirgis ◽  
T. Leblanc ◽  
I. S. McDermid ◽  
T. D. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Solar Cycle ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Mauna Loa ◽  
Table Mountain ◽  
Biennial Oscillation

Abstract. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) lidars, at the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii (MLO, 19.5° N, 155.6° W) and the JPL Table Mountain Facility (TMF, California, 34.5° N, 117.7° W), have been measuring vertical profiles of stratospheric ozone routinely since the early 1990's and late-1980s respectively. Interannual variability of ozone above these two sites was investigated using a multi-linear regression analysis on the deseasonalized monthly mean lidar and satellite time-series at 1 km intervals between 20 and 45 km from January 1995 to April 2011, a period of low volcanic aerosol loading. Explanatory variables representing the 11-yr solar cycle, the El Niño Southern Oscillation, the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, the Eliassen–Palm flux, and horizontal and vertical transport were used. A new proxy, the mid-latitude ozone depleting gas index, which shows a decrease with time as an outcome of the Montreal Protocol, was introduced and compared to the more commonly used linear trend method. The analysis also compares the lidar time-series and a merged time-series obtained from the space-borne stratospheric aerosol and gas experiment II, halogen occultation experiment, and Aura-microwave limb sounder instruments. The results from both lidar and satellite measurements are consistent with recent model simulations which propose changes in tropical upwelling. Additionally, at TMF the ozone depleting gas index explains as much variance as the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation in the upper stratosphere. Over the past 17 yr a diminishing downward trend in ozone was observed before 2000 and a net increase, and sign of ozone recovery, is observed after 2005. Our results which include dynamical proxies suggest possible coupling between horizontal transport and the 11-yr solar cycle response, although a dataset spanning a period longer than one solar cycle is needed to confirm this result.

scholarly journals Dynamics of the Disrupted 2015/16 Quasi-Biennial Oscillation

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (15) ◽  
pp. 5661-5674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Coy ◽  
Paul A. Newman ◽  
Steven Pawson ◽  
Leslie R. Lait
Keyword(s):  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Wave Forcing ◽  
Wind Variability ◽  
Momentum Fluxes ◽  
Horizontal Momentum ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Global Reanalysis ◽  
Biennial Oscillation

A significant disruption of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) occurred during the Northern Hemisphere (NH) winter of 2015/16. Since the QBO is the major wind variability source in the tropical lower stratosphere and influences the rate of ascent of air entering the stratosphere, understanding the cause of this singular disruption may provide new insights into the variability and sensitivity of the global climate system. Here this disruptive event is examined using global reanalysis winds and temperatures from 1980 to 2016. Results reveal record maxima in tropical horizontal momentum fluxes and wave forcing of the tropical zonal mean zonal wind over the NH 2015/16 winter. The Rossby waves responsible for these record tropical values appear to originate in the NH and were focused strongly into the tropics at the 40-hPa level. Two additional NH winters, 1987/88 and 2010/11, were also found to have large tropical lower-stratospheric momentum flux divergences; however, the QBO westerlies did not change to easterlies in those cases.

scholarly journals Global HCFC-22 measurements with MIPAS: retrieval, validation, global distribution and its evolution over 2005–2012

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 3345-3368 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Chirkov ◽  
G. P. Stiller ◽  
A. Laeng ◽  
S. Kellmann ◽  
T. von Clarmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Satellite Data ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Altitude Range ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Balloon Measurements

Abstract. We report on HCFC-22 data acquired by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) in the reduced spectral resolution nominal observation mode. The data cover the period from January 2005 to April 2012 and the altitude range from the upper troposphere (above cloud top altitude) to about 50 km. The profile retrieval was performed by constrained nonlinear least squares fitting of modelled spectra to the measured limb spectral radiances. The spectral ν4-band at 816.5 ± 13 cm−1 was used for the retrieval. A Tikhonov-type smoothing constraint was applied to stabilise the retrieval. In the lower stratosphere, we find a global volume mixing ratio of HCFC-22 of about 185 pptv in January 2005. The rate of linear growth in the lower latitudes lower stratosphere was about 6 to 7 pptv year−1 in the period 2005–2012. The profiles obtained were compared with ACE-FTS satellite data v3.5, as well as with MkIV balloon profiles and cryosampler balloon measurements. Between 13 and 22 km, average agreement within −3 to +5 pptv (MIPAS – ACE) with ACE-FTS v3.5 profiles is demonstrated. Agreement with MkIV solar occultation balloon-borne measurements is within 10–20 pptv below 30 km and worse above, while in situ cryosampler balloon measurements are systematically lower over their full altitude range by 15–50 pptv below 24 km and less than 10 pptv above 28 km. MIPAS HCFC-22 time series below 10 km altitude are shown to agree mostly well to corresponding time series of near-surface abundances from the NOAA/ESRL and AGAGE networks, although a more pronounced seasonal cycle is obvious in the satellite data. This is attributed to tropopause altitude fluctuations and subsidence of polar winter stratospheric air into the troposphere. A parametric model consisting of constant, linear, quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) and several sine and cosine terms with different periods has been fitted to the temporal variation of stratospheric HCFC-22 for all 10°-latitude/1-to-2-km-altitude bins. The relative linear variation was always positive, with relative increases of 40–70 % decade−1 in the tropics and global lower stratosphere, and up to 120 % decade−1 in the upper stratosphere of the northern polar region and the southern extratropical hemisphere. Asian HCFC-22 emissions have become the major source of global upper tropospheric HCFC-22. In the upper troposphere, monsoon air, rich in HCFC-22, is instantaneously mixed into the tropics. In the middle stratosphere, between 20 and 30 km, the observed trend is inconsistent with the trend at the surface (corrected for the age of stratospheric air), hinting at circulation changes. There exists a stronger positive trend in HCFC-22 in the Southern Hemisphere and a more muted positive trend in the Northern Hemisphere, implying a potential change in the stratospheric circulation over the observation period.

scholarly journals On the forcings of the unusual Quasi-Biennial Oscillation structure in February 2016

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 6541-6561
Author(s):  
Haiyan Li ◽  
Robin Pilch Kedzierski ◽  
Katja Matthes
Keyword(s):  
Rossby Wave ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Kelvin Waves ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Zonal Winds ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
First Time ◽  
Biennial Oscillation

Abstract. The westerly phase of the stratospheric Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) was reversed during Northern Hemisphere winter 2015/2016 for the first time since records began in 1953. Recent studies proposed that Rossby waves propagating from the extratropics played an important role during the reversal event in 2015/2016. Building upon these studies, we separated the extratropical Rossby waves into different wavenumbers and timescales by analyzing the combined ERA-40 and ERA-Interim reanalysis zonal wind, meridional wind, vertical velocity, and potential vorticity daily mean data from 1958 to 2017. We find that both synoptic and quasi-stationary Rossby waves are dominant contributors to the reversal event in 2015/2016 in the tropical lower stratosphere. By comparing the results for 2015/2016 with two additional events (1959/1960 and 2010/2011), we find that the largest differences in Rossby wave momentum fluxes are related to synoptic-scale Rossby waves of periods from 5 to 20 d. We demonstrate for the first time, that these enhanced synoptic Rossby waves at 40 hPa in the tropics in February 2016 originate from the extratropics as well as from local wave generation. The strong Rossby wave activity in 2016 in the tropics happened at a time with weak westerly zonal winds. This coincidence of anomalous factors did not happen in any of the previous events. In addition to the anomalous behavior in the tropical lower stratosphere in 2015/2016, we explored the forcing of the unusually long-lasting westerly zonal wind phase in the middle stratosphere (at 20 hPa). Our results reveal that mainly enhanced Kelvin wave activity contributed to this feature. This was in close relation with the strong El Niño event in 2015/2016, which forced more Kelvin waves in the equatorial troposphere. The easterly or very weak westerly zonal winds present around 30–70 hPa allowed these Kelvin waves to propagate vertically and deposit their momentum around 20 hPa, maintaining the westerlies there.

scholarly journals Stratospheric ozone interannual variability (1995–2011) as observed by lidar and satellite at Mauna Loa Observatory, HI and Table Mountain Facility, CA

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5033-5047 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Kirgis ◽  
T. Leblanc ◽  
I. S. McDermid ◽  
T. D. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Solar Cycle ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Mauna Loa ◽  
Table Mountain ◽  
Biennial Oscillation

Abstract. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) lidars, at the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii (MLO, 19.5° N, 155.6° W) and the JPL Table Mountain Facility (TMF, California, 34.5° N, 117.7° W), have been measuring vertical profiles of stratospheric ozone routinely since the early 1990's and late-1980s respectively. Interannual variability of ozone above these two sites was investigated using a multi-linear regression analysis on the deseasonalised monthly mean lidar and satellite time-series at 1 km intervals between 20 and 45 km from January 1995 to April 2011, a period of low volcanic aerosol loading. Explanatory variables representing the 11 yr solar cycle, the El Niño Southern Oscillation, the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, the Eliassen-Palm flux, and horizontal and vertical transport were used. A new proxy, the mid-latitude Ozone Depleting Gas Index, which shows a decrease with time as an outcome of the Montreal Protocol, was introduced and compared to the more commonly used linear trend method. The analysis also compares the lidar time-series and a merged time-series obtained from the space-borne Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II, Halogen Occultation Experiment, and Aura-Microwave Limb Sounder instruments. The results from both lidar and satellite measurements are consistent with recent model simulations which propose changes in tropical upwelling. Additionally, at TMF the Ozone Depleting Gas Index explains as much variance as the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation in the upper stratosphere. Over the past 17 yr a diminishing downward trend in ozone was observed before 2000 and a net increase, and sign of ozone recovery, is observed after 2005. Our results which include dynamical proxies suggest possible coupling between horizontal transport and the 11 yr solar cycle response, although a dataset spanning a period longer than one solar cycle is needed to confirm this result.

scholarly journals Construction of merged satellite total O<sub>3</sub> and NO<sub>2</sub> time series in the tropics for trend studies and evaluation by comparison to NDACC SAOZ measurements

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 3337-3354 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Pastel ◽  
J.-P. Pommereau ◽  
F. Goutail ◽  
A. Richter ◽  
A. Pazmiño ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Composition Change ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Uv Visible ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Lower Noise ◽  
Total Column

Abstract. Long time series of ozone and NO2 total column measurements in the southern tropics are available from two ground-based SAOZ (Système d'Analyse par Observation Zénithale) UV-visible spectrometers operated within the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) in Bauru (22° S, 49° W) in S-E Brazil since 1995 and Reunion Island (21° S, 55° E) in the S-W Indian Ocean since 1993. Although the stations are located at the same latitude, significant differences are observed in the columns of both species, attributed to differences in tropospheric content and equivalent latitude in the lower stratosphere. These data are used to identify which satellites operating during the same period, are capturing the same features and are thus best suited for building reliable merged time series for trend studies. For ozone, the satellites series best matching SAOZ observations are EP-TOMS (1995–2004) and OMI-TOMS (2005–2011), whereas for NO2, best results are obtained by combining GOME version GDP5 (1996–2003) and SCIAMACHY – IUP (2003–2011), displaying lower noise and seasonality in reference to SAOZ. Both merged data sets are fully consistent with the larger columns of the two species above South America and the seasonality of the differences between the two stations, reported by SAOZ, providing reliable time series for further trend analyses and identification of sources of interannual variability in the future analysis.

scholarly journals Tropical troposphere to stratosphere transport of carbon monoxide and long-lived trace species in the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS)

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 5087-5139 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Pommrich ◽  
R. Müller ◽  
J.-U. Grooß ◽  
P. Konopka ◽  
F. Ploeger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Lagrangian Model ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Model Version ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract. Variations in the mixing ratio of trace gases of tropospheric origin entering the stratosphere in the tropics are of interest for assessing both troposphere to stratosphere transport fluxes in the tropics and the impact of these transport fluxes on the composition of the tropical lower stratosphere. Anomaly patterns of carbon monoxide (CO) and long-lived tracers in the lower tropical stratosphere allow conclusions about the rate and the variability of tropical upwelling to be drawn. Here, we present a simplified chemistry scheme for the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS) for the simulation, at comparatively low numerical cost, of CO, ozone, and long-lived trace substances (CH4, N2O, CCl3F (CFC-11), CCl2F2 (CFC-12), and CO2) in the lower tropical stratosphere. For the long-lived trace substances, the boundary conditions at the surface are prescribed based on ground-based measurements in the lowest model level. The boundary condition for CO in the free troposphere is deduced from MOPITT measurements (at &amp;approx; 700–200 hPa). Due to the lack of a specific representation of mixing and convective uplift in the troposphere in this model version, enhanced CO values, in particular those resulting from convective outflow are underestimated. However, in the tropical tropopause layer and the lower tropical stratosphere, there is relatively good agreement of simulated CO with in-situ measurements (with the exception of the TROCCINOX campaign, where CO in the simulation is biased low &amp;approx; 10–20 ppbv). Further, the model results are of sufficient quality to describe large scale anomaly patterns of CO in the lower stratosphere. In particular, the zonally averaged tropical CO anomaly patterns (the so called "tape recorder" patterns) simulated by this model version of CLaMS are in good agreement with observations. The simulations show a too rapid upwelling compared to observations as a consequence of the overestimated vertical velocities in the ERA-interim reanalysis data set. Moreover, the simulated tropical anomaly patterns of N2O are in good agreement with observations. In the simulations, anomaly patterns for CH4 and CFC-11 were found to be consistent with those of N2O; for all long-lived tracers, positive anomalies are simulated because of the enhanced tropical upwelling in the easterly phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation.

scholarly journals Net effect of the QBO in a chemistry climate model

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (21) ◽  
pp. 6505-6525 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. Punge ◽  
M. A. Giorgetta
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Meridional Circulation ◽  
Vortex Formation ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract. The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) of zonal wind is a prominent mode of variability in the tropical stratosphere. It affects not only the meridional circulation and temperature over a wide latitude range but also the transport and chemistry of trace gases such as ozone. Compared to a QBO less circulation, the long-term climatological means of these quantities are also different. These climatological net effects of the QBO can be studied in general circulation models that extend into the middle atmosphere and have a chemistry and transport component, so-called Chemistry Climate Models (CCMs). In this work we show that the CCM MAECHAM4-CHEM can reproduce the observed QBO variations in temperature and ozone mole fractions when nudged towards observed winds. In particular, it is shown that the QBO signal in transport of nitrogen oxides NOx plays an important role in reproducing the observed ozone QBO, which features a phase reversal slightly below the level of maximum of the ozone mole fraction in the tropics. We then compare two 20-year experiments with the MAECHAM4-CHEM model that differ by including or not including the QBO. The mean wind fields differ between the two model runs, especially during summer and fall seasons in both hemispheres. The differences in the wind field lead to differences in the meridional circulation, by the same mechanism that causes the QBO's secondary meridional circulation, and thereby affect mean temperatures and the mean transport of tracers. In the tropics, the net effect on ozone is mostly due to net differences in upwelling and, higher up, the associated temperature change. We show that a net surplus of up to 15% in NOx in the tropics above 10 hPa in the experiment that includes the QBO does not lead to significantly different volume mixing ratios of ozone. We also note a slight increase in the southern vortex strength as well as earlier vortex formation in northern winter. Polar temperatures differ accordingly. Differences in the strength of the Brewer-Dobson circulation and in further trace gas concentrations are analysed. Our findings underline the importance of a representation of the QBO in CCMs.

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