scholarly journals Variability of temperature and ozone in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere from multi-satellite observations and reanalysis data

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Shangguan ◽  
Wuke Wang ◽  
Shuanggen Jin
Keyword(s):  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Regression Methods ◽  
Stratospheric Temperature ◽  
High Vertical Resolution ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Temperature Time

Abstract. Temperature and ozone changes in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) are important components and sensitive indicators of climate change. In this paper, variability and trends of temperature and ozone in the UTLS were investigated for the period 2002–2017 using the high quality, high vertical resolution GPS RO data, improved merged satellite data sets (SWOOSH and C3S) and reanalysis data sets (including the newest ERA5, MERRA2 and ERA-Interim). All three reanalyses show good agreement with the GPS RO measurements in absolute values, annual cycle as well as interannual variabilities of temperature. However, relatively large biases exist for the period 2002–2006, which reveals an evident discontinuity of temperature time series in reanalyses. Based on the multiple linear regression methods, a significant warming of 0.2–0.3 K/decade is found in most areas of the troposphere with stronger increase of 0.4–0.5 K/decade in mid-latitudes of both hemispheres. In contrast, the stratospheric temperature decreases at a rate of 0.1–0.3 K/decade except that in the lower most stratosphere (100–50 hPa) in the tropics and parts of mid-latitude in the Northern Hemisphere (NH). ERA5 shows improved quality compared with ERA-Interim and performs the best agreement with the GPS RO data for the recent trends of temperature. Similar with temperature, reanalyses ozone are also affected by the change of assimilated observations and methods. Negative trends of ozone are found in NH at 150–100 hPa while positive trends are evident in the tropical lower stratosphere. Asymmetric trends of ozone can be found for both hemispheres in the middle stratosphere, with significant ozone decrease in NH mid-latitudes and increase of ozone in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) mid-latitudes. According to model simulations, the temperature increase in the troposphere as well as ozone decrease in the NH stratosphere could be mainly connected to the increase of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and subsequent changes of atmospheric circulations.

scholarly journals Global temperature response to the major volcanic eruptions in multiple reanalysis data sets

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (23) ◽  
pp. 13507-13518 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Fujiwara ◽  
T. Hibino ◽  
S. K. Mehta ◽  
L. Gray ◽  
D. Mitchell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Temperature Response ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Global Temperature ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Mount Pinatubo ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
El Chichón ◽  
Pinatubo Eruption

Abstract. The global temperature responses to the eruptions of Mount Agung in 1963, El Chichón in 1982, and Mount Pinatubo in 1991 are investigated using nine currently available reanalysis data sets (JRA-55, MERRA, ERA-Interim, NCEP-CFSR, JRA-25, ERA-40, NCEP-1, NCEP-2, and 20CR). Multiple linear regression is applied to the zonal and monthly mean time series of temperature for two periods, 1979–2009 (for eight reanalysis data sets) and 1958–2001 (for four reanalysis data sets), by considering explanatory factors of seasonal harmonics, linear trends, Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, solar cycle, and El Niño Southern Oscillation. The residuals are used to define the volcanic signals for the three eruptions separately, and common and different responses among the older and newer reanalysis data sets are highlighted for each eruption. In response to the Mount Pinatubo eruption, most reanalysis data sets show strong warming signals (up to 2–3 K for 1-year average) in the tropical lower stratosphere and weak cooling signals (down to −1 K) in the subtropical upper troposphere. For the El Chichón eruption, warming signals in the tropical lower stratosphere are somewhat smaller than those for the Mount Pinatubo eruption. The response to the Mount Agung eruption is asymmetric about the equator with strong warming in the Southern Hemisphere midlatitude upper troposphere to lower stratosphere. Comparison of the results from several different reanalysis data sets confirms the atmospheric temperature response to these major eruptions qualitatively, but also shows quantitative differences even among the most recent reanalysis data sets. The consistencies and differences among different reanalysis data sets provide a measure of the confidence and uncertainty in our current understanding of the volcanic response. The results of this intercomparison study may be useful for validation of climate model responses to volcanic forcing and for assessing proposed geoengineering by stratospheric aerosol injection, as well as to link studies using only a single reanalysis data set to other studies using a different reanalysis data set.

scholarly journals MIPAS reference atmospheres and comparisons to V4.61/V4.62 MIPAS level 2 geophysical data sets

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 9973-10017 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Remedios ◽  
R. J. Leigh ◽  
A. M. Waterfall ◽  
D. P. Moore ◽  
H. Sembhi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Michelson Interferometer ◽  
Initial Guess ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Dynamic Representation ◽  
Ch4 And N2o ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Maximum Minimum

Abstract. Reliable reference profiles and estimates of variability are a necessity for a variety of processes relating to ENVISAT including the development of key aspects and inputs for the operational processor for the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding. MIPAS reference atmospheres have therefore been produced in two forms, namely standard atmospheres for modelling and error analysis for typical atmospheric situations and the IG2 seasonal climatologies for initial guess profiles used as part of the operational processing. The reference states cover 36 species on a common altitude, pressure, and temperature grid from 0 to 120 km, and include both means and estimates of variability (maximum, minimum and one sigma values). This paper describes V3.1 of the standard atmospheres and V4.0 of the IG2 atmospheres which are the current versions of the reference atmospheres. Particular attention is paid to the MIPAS operational geophysical products (pressure/temperature, H2O, O3, CH4, N2O, HNO3 and NO2) and to CO2 whose mixing ratio is required for the retrieval of pressure and temperature. A dynamic representation of CO2 is presented which shows the presence of CO2 gradients in the troposphere and the lower stratosphere. Since these atmospheres have been produced independently of MIPAS data, it is also possible to compare the data to the MIPAS operational products and derive valuable information on both the reference atmospheres and on MIPAS data products themselves. This process has been performed for V4.61/V4.62 data from the year 2003 as part of the MIPAS validation activity. It is demonstrated that the agreement between the MIPAS mean data and the reference atmospheres is very good in mid-latitudes and the tropics, verifying these data to first order. There is also reasonable agreement in standard deviations between the IG2 atmospheres and the corresponding sigmas calculated from the MIPAS data. Knowledge of tropospheric concentrations of CH4 and N2O is used to examine the accuracy of the MIPAS data and their susceptibility to cloud effects. It is shown that for the highest accuracy, MIPAS data should be filtered with cloud index values of 2.5 for N2O and 3.5 for CH4. Once such filtering has been performed, the MIPAS data for these species appear to be accurate to within 10% in the upper troposphere. The use of cloud index data in combination with MIPAS data is recommended for studies of the polar winter stratosphere and the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere.

scholarly journals Variability of temperature and ozone in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere from multi-satellite observations and reanalysis data

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 6659-6679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Shangguan ◽  
Wuke Wang ◽  
Shuanggen Jin
Keyword(s):  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Positive Temperature ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
Model Simulations ◽  
Upper Troposphere

Abstract. Temperature and ozone changes in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) are important components of climate change. In this paper, variability and trends of temperature and ozone in the UTLS are investigated for the period 2002–2017 using high-quality, high vertical resolution Global Navigation Satellite System radio occultation (GNSS RO) data and improved merged satellite data sets. As part of the Stratosphere-troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate (SPARC) Reanalysis Intercomparison Project (S-RIP), three reanalysis data sets, including the ERA-I, MERRA2 and the recently released ERA5, are evaluated for their representation of temperature and ozone in the UTLS. The recent temperature and ozone trends are updated with a multiple linear regression (MLR) method and related to sea surface temperature (SST) changes based on model simulations made with NCAR's Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). All reanalysis temperatures show good agreement with the GNSS RO measurements in both absolute value and annual cycle. Interannual variations in temperature related to Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) processes are well represented by all reanalyses. However, evident biases can be seen in reanalyses for the linear trends of temperature since they are affected by discontinuities in assimilated observations and methods. Such biases can be corrected and the estimated trends can be significantly improved. ERA5 is significantly improved compared to ERA-I and shows the best agreement with the GNSS RO temperature. The MLR results indicate a significant warming of 0.2–0.3 K per decade in most areas of the troposphere, with a stronger increase of 0.4–0.5 K per decade at midlatitudes of both hemispheres. In contrast, the stratospheric temperature decreases at a rate of 0.1–0.3 K per decade, which is most significant in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). Positive temperature trends of 0.1–0.3 K per decade are seen in the tropical lower stratosphere (100–50 hPa). Negative trends of ozone are found in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) at 150–50 hPa, while positive trends are evident in the tropical lower stratosphere. Asymmetric trends of ozone can be found in the midlatitudes of two hemispheres in the middle stratosphere, with significant ozone decrease in the NH and increase in ozone in the SH. Large biases exist in reanalyses, and it is still challenging to do trend analysis based on reanalysis ozone data. According to single-factor-controlled model simulations with WACCM, the temperature increase in the troposphere and the ozone decrease in the NH stratosphere are mainly connected to the increase in SST and subsequent changes of atmospheric circulations. Both the increase in SSTs and the decrease in ozone in the NH contribute to the temperature decrease in the NH stratosphere. The increase in temperature in the lower stratospheric tropics may be related to an increase in ozone in that region, while warming SSTs contribute to a cooling in that area.

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.

The Impact of Ozone-Depleting Substances on Tropical Upwelling, as Revealed by the Absence of Lower-Stratospheric Cooling since the Late 1990s

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 2523-2534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo M. Polvani ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Valentina Aquila ◽  
Darryn W. Waugh
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Stratospheric Temperature ◽  
Temperature Trends ◽  
Ozone Trends ◽  
Primary Driver ◽  
Stratospheric Cooling ◽  
Ozone Depleting Substances ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
The Impact

The impact of ozone-depleting substances on global lower-stratospheric temperature trends is widely recognized. In the tropics, however, understanding lower-stratospheric temperature trends has proven more challenging. While the tropical lower-stratospheric cooling observed from 1979 to 1997 has been linked to tropical ozone decreases, those ozone trends cannot be of chemical origin, as active chlorine is not abundant in the tropical lower stratosphere. The 1979–97 tropical ozone trends are believed to originate from enhanced upwelling, which, it is often stated, would be driven by increasing concentrations of well-mixed greenhouse gases. This study, using simple arguments based on observational evidence after 1997, combined with model integrations with incrementally added single forcings, argues that trends in ozone-depleting substances, not well-mixed greenhouse gases, have been the primary driver of temperature and ozone trends in the tropical lower stratosphere until 1997, and this has occurred because ozone-depleting substances are key drivers of tropical upwelling and, more generally, of the entire Brewer–Dobson circulation.

scholarly journals Sulfate geoengineering impact on methane transport and lifetime: results from the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP)

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (18) ◽  
pp. 11209-11226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Visioni ◽  
Giovanni Pitari ◽  
Valentina Aquila ◽  
Simone Tilmes ◽  
Irene Cionni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Radiation Absorption ◽  
Coupled Models ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Aerosol Scattering ◽  
Intercomparison Project ◽  
Planetary Albedo ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract. Sulfate geoengineering (SG), made by sustained injection of SO2 in the tropical lower stratosphere, may impact the CH4 abundance through several photochemical mechanisms affecting tropospheric OH and hence the methane lifetime. (a) The reflection of incoming solar radiation increases the planetary albedo and cools the surface, with a tropospheric H2O decrease. (b) The tropospheric UV budget is upset by the additional aerosol scattering and stratospheric ozone changes: the net effect is meridionally not uniform, with a net decrease in the tropics, thus producing less tropospheric O(1D). (c) The extratropical downwelling motion from the lower stratosphere tends to increase the sulfate aerosol surface area density available for heterogeneous chemical reactions in the mid-to-upper troposphere, thus reducing the amount of NOx and O3 production. (d) The tropical lower stratosphere is warmed by solar and planetary radiation absorption by the aerosols. The heating rate perturbation is highly latitude dependent, producing a stronger meridional component of the Brewer–Dobson circulation. The net effect on tropospheric OH due to the enhanced stratosphere–troposphere exchange may be positive or negative depending on the net result of different superimposed species perturbations (CH4, NOy, O3, SO4) in the extratropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). In addition, the atmospheric stabilization resulting from the tropospheric cooling and lower stratospheric warming favors an additional decrease of the UTLS extratropical CH4 by lowering the horizontal eddy mixing. Two climate–chemistry coupled models are used to explore the above radiative, chemical and dynamical mechanisms affecting CH4 transport and lifetime (ULAQ-CCM and GEOSCCM). The CH4 lifetime may become significantly longer (by approximately 16 %) with a sustained injection of 8 Tg-SO2 yr−1 starting in the year 2020, which implies an increase of tropospheric CH4 (200 ppbv) and a positive indirect radiative forcing of sulfate geoengineering due to CH4 changes (+0.10 W m−2 in the 2040–2049 decade and +0.15 W m−2 in the 2060–2069 decade).

scholarly journals Comparisons of polar processing diagnostics from 34 years of the ERA-Interim and MERRA reanalyses

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 3873-3892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. D. Lawrence ◽  
G. L. Manney ◽  
K. Minschwaner ◽  
M. L. Santee ◽  
A. Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
Stratospheric Temperature ◽  
Vortex Size ◽  
Comprehensive Comparison ◽  
Modern Era

Abstract. We present a comprehensive comparison of polar processing diagnostics derived from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Interim Reanalysis (ERA-Interim). We use diagnostics that focus on meteorological conditions related to stratospheric chemical ozone loss based on temperatures, polar vortex dynamics, and air parcel trajectories to evaluate the effects these reanalyses might have on polar processing studies. Our results show that the agreement between MERRA and ERA-Interim changes significantly over the 34 years from 1979 to 2013 in both hemispheres and in many cases improves. By comparing our diagnostics during five time periods when an increasing number of higher-quality observations were brought into these reanalyses, we show how changes in the data assimilation systems (DAS) of MERRA and ERA-Interim affected their meteorological data. Many of our stratospheric temperature diagnostics show a convergence toward significantly better agreement, in both hemispheres, after 2001 when Aqua and GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) radiances were introduced into the DAS. Other diagnostics, such as the winter mean volume of air with temperatures below polar stratospheric cloud formation thresholds (VPSC) and some diagnostics of polar vortex size and strength, do not show improved agreement between the two reanalyses in recent years when data inputs into the DAS were more comprehensive. The polar processing diagnostics calculated from MERRA and ERA-Interim agree much better than those calculated from earlier reanalysis data sets. We still, however, see fairly large differences in many of the diagnostics in years prior to 2002, raising the possibility that the choice of one reanalysis over another could significantly influence the results of polar processing studies. After 2002, we see overall good agreement among the diagnostics, which demonstrates that the ERA-Interim and MERRA reanalyses are equally appropriate choices for polar processing studies of recent Arctic and Antarctic winters.

scholarly journals Asymmetry and pathways of inter-hemispheric transport in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolu Yan ◽  
Paul Konopka ◽  
Marius Hauck ◽  
Aurélien Podglajen ◽  
Felix Ploeger
Keyword(s):  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Asian Summer Monsoon ◽  
Boundary Surface ◽  
Lagrangian Model ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Source Regions ◽  
Mass Fractions ◽  
Asian Summer ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract. Inter-hemispheric transport may strongly affect the trace gas composition of the atmosphere, especially in relation to anthropogenic emissions which originate mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. This study investigates the transport from the boundary surface layer of the Northern Hemispheric (NH) extratropics (30–90° N), Southern Hemispheric (SH) extratropics (30–90° S), and tropics (30° S–30° N) into the global upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) using simulations with the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS). In particular, we diagnose inter-hemispheric transport in terms of the air mass fractions (AMF), age spectra, and the mean age of air (AoA) calculated for these three source regions. We find that the AMFs from the NH extratropics to the UTLS are about five times larger than the corresponding contributions from the SH extratropics and almost twenty times smaller than those from the tropics. The amplitude of the AMF seasonal variability originating from the NH extratropics is comparable to that from the tropics. The NH and SH extratropics age spectra show much stronger seasonality compared to the seasonality of the tropical age spectra. The transit time of NH extratropical origin air to the SH extratropics is longer than vice versa. The asymmetry of the inter-hemispheric transport is mainly driven by the Asian summer monsoon (ASM). Both ASM and westerly ducts affect the cross hemispheric transport of the NH extratropical air to the SH, and it is an interplay between the ASM and westerly ducts which triggers such cross-equator transport from boreal summer to fall, mainly westerly ducts over the eastern Atlantic.

scholarly journals The SPARC Data Initiative: comparisons of CFC-11, CFC-12, HF and SF<sub>6</sub> climatologies from international satellite limb sounders

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Tegtmeier ◽  
M. I. Hegglin ◽  
J. Anderson ◽  
B. Funke ◽  
J. Gille ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Satellite Data ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Mean Fields ◽  
Mean State

Abstract. A quality assessment of the CFC-11 (CCl3F), CFC-12 (CCl2F2), HF, and SF6 products from limb-viewing satellite instruments is provided by means of a detailed intercomparison. The climatologies in the form of monthly zonal mean time series are obtained from HALOE, MIPAS, ACE-FTS, and HIRDLS within the time period 1991–2010. The intercomparisons focus on the mean biases of the monthly and annual zonal mean fields and aim to identify their vertical, latitudinal and temporal structure. The CFC evaluations (based on MIPAS, ACE-FTS and HIRDLS) reveal that the uncertainty in our knowledge of the atmospheric CFC-11 and CFC-12 mean state, as given by satellite data sets, is smallest in the tropics and mid-latitudes at altitudes below 50 and 20 hPa, respectively, with a 1σ multi-instrument spread of up to ±5 %. For HF, the situation is reversed. The two available data sets (HALOE and ACE-FTS) agree well above 100 hPa, with a spread in this region of ±5 to ±10 %, while at altitudes below 100 hPa the HF annual mean state is less well known, with a spread ±30 % and larger. The atmospheric SF6 annual mean states derived from two satellite data sets (MIPAS and ACE-FTS) show only very small differences with a spread of less than ±5 % and often below ±2.5 %. While the overall agreement among the climatological data sets is very good for large parts of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (CFCs, SF6) or middle stratosphere (HF), individual discrepancies have been identified. Pronounced deviations between the instrument climatologies exist for particular atmospheric regions which differ from gas to gas. Notable features are differently shaped isopleths in the subtropics, deviations in the vertical gradients in the lower stratosphere and in the meridional gradients in the upper troposphere, and inconsistencies in the seasonal cycle. Additionally, long-term drifts between the instruments have been identified for the CFC-11 and CFC-12 time series. The evaluations as a whole provide guidance on what data sets are the most reliable for applications such as studies of atmospheric transport and variability, model–measurement comparisons and detection of long-term trends. The data sets will be publicly available from the SPARC Data Centre and through PANGAEA (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.849223).

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