Articles | Volume 13, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1469-2013
© Author(s) 2013. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1469-2013
© Author(s) 2013. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
06 Feb 2013
Research article |
| 06 Feb 2013
Quantification of structural uncertainty in climate data records from GPS radio occultation
A. K. Steiner
Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change (WEGC) and Institute for Geophysics, Astrophysics, and Meteorology/Institute of Physics (IGAM/IP), University of Graz, Graz, Austria
Institute of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
D. Hunt
COSMIC Project Office, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, CO, USA
S.-P. Ho
COSMIC Project Office, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, CO, USA
G. Kirchengast
Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change (WEGC) and Institute for Geophysics, Astrophysics, and Meteorology/Institute of Physics (IGAM/IP), University of Graz, Graz, Austria
A. J. Mannucci
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
B. Scherllin-Pirscher
Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change (WEGC) and Institute for Geophysics, Astrophysics, and Meteorology/Institute of Physics (IGAM/IP), University of Graz, Graz, Austria
COSMIC Project Office, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, CO, USA
H. Gleisner
Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), Copenhagen, Denmark
A. von Engeln
EUMETSAT (EUM), Darmstadt, Germany
T. Schmidt
Dept. Geodesy and Remote Sensing, German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Potsdam, Germany
C. Ao
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
S. S. Leroy
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
E. R. Kursinski
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
U. Foelsche
Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change (WEGC) and Institute for Geophysics, Astrophysics, and Meteorology/Institute of Physics (IGAM/IP), University of Graz, Graz, Austria
M. Gorbunov
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian
S. Heise
Dept. Geodesy and Remote Sensing, German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Potsdam, Germany
Y.-H. Kuo
COSMIC Project Office, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, CO, USA
K. B. Lauritsen
Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), Copenhagen, Denmark
C. Marquardt
EUMETSAT (EUM), Darmstadt, Germany
C. Rocken
COSMIC Project Office, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, CO, USA
W. Schreiner
COSMIC Project Office, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, CO, USA
S. Sokolovskiy
COSMIC Project Office, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, CO, USA
S. Syndergaard
Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), Copenhagen, Denmark
J. Wickert
Dept. Geodesy and Remote Sensing, German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Potsdam, Germany
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Preprint under review for AMT
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Preprint under review for AMT
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This study evaluates the ability of the EUMETSAT Sentinel-6A RO-NTC processor to provide high quality bending angle profiles. The analysis spans from the signals SNR and phase noise to the determination of the optimal signals cut-off points in the tropospheric region. Some processor enhancements and the impact on the data quality is also discussed. Data were compared against ECMWF confirming the ability of the EUMETSAT RO processors in maintaining consistent and high-quality data.
Manisha Ganeshan, Dong L. Wu, Joseph A. Santanello, Jie Gong, Chi O. Ao, Panagiotis Vergados, and Kevin Nelson
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-83, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-83, 2024
Preprint under review for AMT
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This study explores the potential of two newly launched commercial GNSS RO satellite missions for advancing Arctic lower atmospheric studies. The products have a good sampling of the lower Arctic atmosphere, and are useful to derive the planetary boundary layer (PBL) height during winter months. This research is a step towards closing the observation gap in polar regions due to the decomissioning of COSMIC-1 GNSS RO mission, and the lack of high latitude coverage by its successor (COSMIC-2).
Irena Nimac, Julia Danzer, and Gottfried Kirchengast
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-59, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-59, 2024
Preprint under review for AMT
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Due to shortcomings of available observations, having accurate global 3D wind fields remains a challenge. Promising option is the use of radio occultation (RO) satellite data, which enable to derive winds based on the wind approximations. We test how well RO winds describe the ERA5 reanalysis winds. We separate the total wind difference into the approximation bias and the systematic difference between the two datasets. The results show the utility of RO winds for climate monitoring and analyses.
Kuo-Nung Wang, Chi O. Ao, Mary G. Morris, George A. Hajj, Marcin J. Kurowski, Francis J. Turk, and Angelyn W. Moore
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Major sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) and atmospheric blocking can significantly influence winter extratropical surface weather. To study the relationship between SSWs and blocking, we examine dynamic stratosphere-troposphere coupling using vertically high-resolved observations from Global Navigation Satellite System radio occultation for 2007–2019. Our results provide a purely observational view on the evolution of the major SSWs, their link to blocking, and effect on the polar tropopause.
Thomas Pliemon, Ulrich Foelsche, Christian Rohr, and Christian Pfister
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Louis Morin consistently recorded precipitation intensity and duration between 1665 and 1713. We use these records to reconstruct precipitation totals. This reconstruction is validated by several methods and then presented using precipitation indexes. What is exceptional about this dataset is the availability of a sub-daily resolution and the low number of missing data points over the entire observation period.
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Atmosphere remote sensing using GNSS radio occultation provides a highly valuable basis for atmospheric and climate science. For the highest-quality demands, the Wegener Center set up a rigorous system for processing low-level measurement data. This excess-phase processing setup includes integrated quality control and uncertainty estimation. It was successfully evaluated and inter-compared, ensuring the capability of producing reliable long-term data records for climate applications.
Julia Danzer, Magdalena Pieler, and Gottfried Kirchengast
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-137, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-137, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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We investigate the potential of radio occultation (RO) data for climate-oriented wind field monitoring with a focus on the tropics. In this region the geostrophic balance breaks down and the equatorial balance equation may take over across the equator. Analyzing both the individual wind components and the total wind speed we found that RO wind field biases are generally smaller than ± 2 m/s, suggesting clear added value of RO for wind field monitoring.
Irena Nimac, Julia Danzer, and Gottfried Kirchengast
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-100, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-100, 2023
Revised manuscript not accepted
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As global wind measurements are limited by low spatial coverage or lack of vertical profile information, radio occultation (RO) satellite data might be of help. Wind fields are indirectly retrieved using the geostrophic approximation. We first test how well the method performs, finding agreement better than 2 m/s in wind speed. In a second step, we investigate how good RO and reanalysis data compare. The results suggest that RO-derived wind fields provide added value for climate monitoring.
Karina von Schuckmann, Audrey Minière, Flora Gues, Francisco José Cuesta-Valero, Gottfried Kirchengast, Susheel Adusumilli, Fiammetta Straneo, Michaël Ablain, Richard P. Allan, Paul M. Barker, Hugo Beltrami, Alejandro Blazquez, Tim Boyer, Lijing Cheng, John Church, Damien Desbruyeres, Han Dolman, Catia M. Domingues, Almudena García-García, Donata Giglio, John E. Gilson, Maximilian Gorfer, Leopold Haimberger, Maria Z. Hakuba, Stefan Hendricks, Shigeki Hosoda, Gregory C. Johnson, Rachel Killick, Brian King, Nicolas Kolodziejczyk, Anton Korosov, Gerhard Krinner, Mikael Kuusela, Felix W. Landerer, Moritz Langer, Thomas Lavergne, Isobel Lawrence, Yuehua Li, John Lyman, Florence Marti, Ben Marzeion, Michael Mayer, Andrew H. MacDougall, Trevor McDougall, Didier Paolo Monselesan, Jan Nitzbon, Inès Otosaka, Jian Peng, Sarah Purkey, Dean Roemmich, Kanako Sato, Katsunari Sato, Abhishek Savita, Axel Schweiger, Andrew Shepherd, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Leon Simons, Donald A. Slater, Thomas Slater, Andrea K. Steiner, Toshio Suga, Tanguy Szekely, Wim Thiery, Mary-Louise Timmermans, Inne Vanderkelen, Susan E. Wjiffels, Tonghua Wu, and Michael Zemp
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1675–1709, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1675-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1675-2023, 2023
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Earth's climate is out of energy balance, and this study quantifies how much heat has consequently accumulated over the past decades (ocean: 89 %, land: 6 %, cryosphere: 4 %, atmosphere: 1 %). Since 1971, this accumulated heat reached record values at an increasing pace. The Earth heat inventory provides a comprehensive view on the status and expectation of global warming, and we call for an implementation of this global climate indicator into the Paris Agreement’s Global Stocktake.
Ying Li, Gottfried Kirchengast, Marc Schwaerz, and Yunbin Yuan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1259–1284, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1259-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1259-2023, 2023
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We develop a new approach to monitor sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events since 1980 and develop a 42-year SSW event climatology. Detection and evaluation results suggest that the new method is robust for SSW monitoring. We also found an increase in the duration of SSW main-phase warmings of about 5(±2) d over the three decades from the 1980s to the 2010s, raising the average duration from about 10 to 15 d, and the warming strength is also found increased.
Johannes K. Nielsen, Hans Gleisner, Stig Syndergaard, and Kent B. Lauritsen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6243–6256, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6243-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6243-2022, 2022
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This paper provides a new way to estimate uncertainties and error correlations. The method is a generalization of a known method called the
three-cornered hat: Instead of calculating uncertainties from assumed knowledge about the observation method, uncertainties and error correlations are estimated statistically from tree independent observation series, measuring the same variable. The results are useful for future estimation of atmospheric-specific humidity from the bending of radio waves.
Anthony J. Mannucci, Chi O. Ao, Byron A. Iijima, Thomas K. Meehan, Panagiotis Vergados, E. Robert Kursinski, and William S. Schreiner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4971–4987, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4971-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4971-2022, 2022
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The Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) technique is a satellite-based method for producing highly accurate vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature and pressure. RO profiles are used to monitor global climate trends, particularly in that region of the atmosphere that includes the lower stratosphere. Two data sets spanning 1995–1997 that were produced from the first RO satellite are highly accurate and can be used to assess global atmospheric models.
Thomas Pliemon, Ulrich Foelsche, Christian Rohr, and Christian Pfister
Clim. Past, 18, 1685–1707, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1685-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1685-2022, 2022
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We have digitized and analyzed meteorological variables (temperature, direction of the movement of the clouds, and cloud cover), which were noted by Louis Morin in the period 1665–1713 in Paris. This time period is characterized by cold winters and autumns and moderate springs and summers. A low frequency of westerlies in the winter months leads to a cooling. Morin's measurements seem to be trustworthy. Only cloud cover in quantitative terms should be taken with caution.
Wouter Dorigo, Irene Himmelbauer, Daniel Aberer, Lukas Schremmer, Ivana Petrakovic, Luca Zappa, Wolfgang Preimesberger, Angelika Xaver, Frank Annor, Jonas Ardö, Dennis Baldocchi, Marco Bitelli, Günter Blöschl, Heye Bogena, Luca Brocca, Jean-Christophe Calvet, J. Julio Camarero, Giorgio Capello, Minha Choi, Michael C. Cosh, Nick van de Giesen, Istvan Hajdu, Jaakko Ikonen, Karsten H. Jensen, Kasturi Devi Kanniah, Ileen de Kat, Gottfried Kirchengast, Pankaj Kumar Rai, Jenni Kyrouac, Kristine Larson, Suxia Liu, Alexander Loew, Mahta Moghaddam, José Martínez Fernández, Cristian Mattar Bader, Renato Morbidelli, Jan P. Musial, Elise Osenga, Michael A. Palecki, Thierry Pellarin, George P. Petropoulos, Isabella Pfeil, Jarrett Powers, Alan Robock, Christoph Rüdiger, Udo Rummel, Michael Strobel, Zhongbo Su, Ryan Sullivan, Torbern Tagesson, Andrej Varlagin, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Jeffrey Walker, Jun Wen, Fred Wenger, Jean Pierre Wigneron, Mel Woods, Kun Yang, Yijian Zeng, Xiang Zhang, Marek Zreda, Stephan Dietrich, Alexander Gruber, Peter van Oevelen, Wolfgang Wagner, Klaus Scipal, Matthias Drusch, and Roberto Sabia
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5749–5804, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5749-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5749-2021, 2021
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The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) is a community-based open-access data portal for soil water measurements taken at the ground and is accessible at https://ismn.earth. Over 1000 scientific publications and thousands of users have made use of the ISMN. The scope of this paper is to inform readers about the data and functionality of the ISMN and to provide a review of the scientific progress facilitated through the ISMN with the scope to shape future research and operations.
Matthieu Plu, Barbara Scherllin-Pirscher, Delia Arnold Arias, Rocio Baro, Guillaume Bigeard, Luca Bugliaro, Ana Carvalho, Laaziz El Amraoui, Kurt Eschbacher, Marcus Hirtl, Christian Maurer, Marie D. Mulder, Dennis Piontek, Lennart Robertson, Carl-Herbert Rokitansky, Fritz Zobl, and Raimund Zopp
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2973–2992, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2973-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2973-2021, 2021
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Past volcanic eruptions that spread out ash over large areas, like Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, forced the cancellation of thousands of flights and had huge economic consequences.
In this article, an international team in the H2020 EU-funded EUNADICS-AV project has designed a probabilistic model approach to quantify ash concentrations. This approach is evaluated against measurements, and its potential use to mitigate the impact of future large-scale eruptions is discussed.
Martin Stangl and Ulrich Foelsche
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-117, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-117, 2021
Manuscript not accepted for further review
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We selected the Maunder Minimum (1645–1715), an astrophysically defined section of the Little Ice Age, and compared the historical data from the Grand Duchy of Transylvania with those from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. For a larger period (1500–1950), we examined on a decadal basis the extent to which an influence on the climate through long-term fluctuations in solar activity, as was inferred from isotope reconstructions from ice cores, can be seen.
Esmail Ghaemi, Ulrich Foelsche, Alexander Kann, and Jürgen Fuchsberger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4335–4356, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4335-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4335-2021, 2021
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We assess an operational merged gauge–radar precipitation product over a period of 12 years, using gridded precipitation fields from a dense gauge network (WegenerNet) in southeastern Austria. We analyze annual data, seasonal data, and extremes using different metrics. We identify individual events using a simple threshold based on the interval between two consecutive events and evaluate the events' characteristics in both datasets.
Ying Li, Gottfried Kirchengast, Marc Schwärz, Florian Ladstädter, and Yunbin Yuan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2327–2343, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2327-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2327-2021, 2021
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We introduce a new method to detect and monitor sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) data at high northern latitudes and demonstrate it for the well-known Jan.–Feb. 2009 event. We found that RO data are capable of SSW monitoring. Based on our method, a SSW event can be detected and tracked, and the duration and the strength of the event can be recorded. The results are consistent with other research on the 2009 event.
Jürgen Fuchsberger, Gottfried Kirchengast, and Thomas Kabas
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1307–1334, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1307-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1307-2021, 2021
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The paper describes the most recent weather and climate data from the WegenerNet station networks, providing hydrometeorological measurements since 2007 at very high spatial and temporal resolution for long-term observation in two regions in southeastern Austria: the WegenerNet Feldbach Region, in the Alpine forelands, comprising 155 stations with 1 station about every 2 km2, and the WegenerNet Johnsbachtal, in a mountainous region, with 14 stations at altitudes from about 600 m to 2200 m.
Michael Gorbunov, Gottfried Kirchengast, and Kent B. Lauritsen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 853–867, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-853-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-853-2021, 2021
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Currently, the canonical transform (CT) approach to the processing of radio occultation observations is widely used. For the spherically symmetric atmosphere, the applicability of this method can be strictly proven. However, in the presence of horizontal gradients, this approach may not work. Here we introduce a generalization of the CT method in order to reduce the errors due to horizontal gradients.
Pierre-Yves Tournigand, Valeria Cigala, Elzbieta Lasota, Mohammed Hammouti, Lieven Clarisse, Hugues Brenot, Fred Prata, Gottfried Kirchengast, Andrea K. Steiner, and Riccardo Biondi
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 3139–3159, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3139-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3139-2020, 2020
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The detection and monitoring of volcanic clouds are important for aviation management, climate and weather forecasts. We present in this paper the first comprehensive archive collecting spatial and temporal information about volcanic clouds generated by the 11 largest eruptions of this century. We provide a complete set of state-of-the-art data allowing the development and testing of new algorithms contributing to improve the accuracy of the estimation of fundamental volcanic cloud parameters.
Marcus Hirtl, Barbara Scherllin-Pirscher, Martin Stuefer, Delia Arnold, Rocio Baro, Christian Maurer, and Marie D. Mulder
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3099–3115, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-3099-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-3099-2020, 2020
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The paper shows the application of a new volcanic emission preprocessor for the chemical transport model WRF-Chem. The model is evaluated with different observational data sets for the eruption of the Grimsvötn volcano 2011.
Elżbieta Lasota, Andrea K. Steiner, Gottfried Kirchengast, and Riccardo Biondi
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2679–2693, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2679-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2679-2020, 2020
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In this work, we provide a comprehensive archive of tropical cyclone vertical structure for the period 2001–2018. The tropical cyclone best tracks are co-located in time and space with high-vertical-resolution atmospheric profiles (temperature, pressure, humidity and refractivity) from radio occultations and with climatological profiles. This dataset can be used to analyze the inner vertical thermodynamic structure of tropical cyclones and the pre-cyclone environment.
Clara Hohmann, Gottfried Kirchengast, Sungmin O, Wolfgang Rieger, and Ulrich Foelsche
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2020-453, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2020-453, 2020
Manuscript not accepted for further review
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Heavy precipitation events are still feeding with a large uncertainty into hydrological models. Based on the highly dense station network WegenerNet (one station per 2 km2) we analyzed the sensitivity of runoff simulations to different rain network densities and interpolation methods in small catchments. We find, and quantify relevant characteristics, that runoff curves especially from
short-duration convective rainfall events are strongly influenced by gauge station density and distribution.
Karina von Schuckmann, Lijing Cheng, Matthew D. Palmer, James Hansen, Caterina Tassone, Valentin Aich, Susheel Adusumilli, Hugo Beltrami, Tim Boyer, Francisco José Cuesta-Valero, Damien Desbruyères, Catia Domingues, Almudena García-García, Pierre Gentine, John Gilson, Maximilian Gorfer, Leopold Haimberger, Masayoshi Ishii, Gregory C. Johnson, Rachel Killick, Brian A. King, Gottfried Kirchengast, Nicolas Kolodziejczyk, John Lyman, Ben Marzeion, Michael Mayer, Maeva Monier, Didier Paolo Monselesan, Sarah Purkey, Dean Roemmich, Axel Schweiger, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Andrew Shepherd, Donald A. Slater, Andrea K. Steiner, Fiammetta Straneo, Mary-Louise Timmermans, and Susan E. Wijffels
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2013–2041, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2013-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2013-2020, 2020
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Understanding how much and where the heat is distributed in the Earth system is fundamental to understanding how this affects warming oceans, atmosphere and land, rising temperatures and sea level, and loss of grounded and floating ice, which are fundamental concerns for society. This study is a Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) concerted international effort to obtain the Earth heat inventory over the period 1960–2018.
Marcus Hirtl, Delia Arnold, Rocio Baro, Hugues Brenot, Mauro Coltelli, Kurt Eschbacher, Helmut Hard-Stremayer, Florian Lipok, Christian Maurer, Dieter Meinhard, Lucia Mona, Marie D. Mulder, Nikolaos Papagiannopoulos, Michael Pernsteiner, Matthieu Plu, Lennart Robertson, Carl-Herbert Rokitansky, Barbara Scherllin-Pirscher, Klaus Sievers, Mikhail Sofiev, Wim Som de Cerff, Martin Steinheimer, Martin Stuefer, Nicolas Theys, Andreas Uppstu, Saskia Wagenaar, Roland Winkler, Gerhard Wotawa, Fritz Zobl, and Raimund Zopp
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 1719–1739, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-1719-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-1719-2020, 2020
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The paper summarizes the set-up and outcome of a volcanic-hazard demonstration exercise, with the goals of assessing and mitigating the impacts of volcanic ash clouds on civil and military aviation. Experts in the field simulated the sequence of procedures for an artificial eruption of the Etna volcano in Italy. The scope of the exercise ranged from the detection of the assumed event to the issuance of early warnings and optimized rerouting of flights.
Hans Gleisner, Kent B. Lauritsen, Johannes K. Nielsen, and Stig Syndergaard
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3081–3098, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3081-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3081-2020, 2020
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Data from GPS radio occultation (RO) instruments aboard a series of satellites have been reprocessed by the ROM SAF. We describe the monthly mean RO climate data records (CDRs) and the methods for removing sampling errors. The quality of the CDRs is evaluated, with a focus on systematic differences between satellite missions. Between 8 and 30 km, the data quality and the inter-mission differences are small enough to allow the generation of combined multi-mission data records starting in 2001.
Andrea K. Steiner, Florian Ladstädter, Chi O. Ao, Hans Gleisner, Shu-Peng Ho, Doug Hunt, Torsten Schmidt, Ulrich Foelsche, Gottfried Kirchengast, Ying-Hwa Kuo, Kent B. Lauritsen, Anthony J. Mannucci, Johannes K. Nielsen, William Schreiner, Marc Schwärz, Sergey Sokolovskiy, Stig Syndergaard, and Jens Wickert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2547–2575, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2547-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2547-2020, 2020
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High-quality observations are critically important for monitoring the Earth’s changing climate. We provide information on the consistency and long-term stability of observations from GPS radio occultation (RO). We assess, for the first time, RO records from multiple RO missions and all major RO data providers. Our results quantify where RO can be used for reliable trend assessment and confirm its climate quality.
Michael Gorbunov
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2020-114, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2020-114, 2020
Revised manuscript not accepted
Ramon Padullés, Chi O. Ao, F. Joseph Turk, Manuel de la Torre Juárez, Byron Iijima, Kuo Nung Wang, and Estel Cardellach
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1299–1313, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1299-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1299-2020, 2020
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In this study we thoroughly address the calibration and validation of the new polarimetric radio occultation (PRO) observables. These represent an innovative way to obtain vertical profiles of precipitation along with thermodynamic observations of the same scene. First we perform the on-orbit calibration of the measurement. Then, we show how the PRO observables are sensitive to the presence and intensity of rain by looking for coincident precipitation measurements from independent missions.
Martin Lasser, Sungmin O, and Ulrich Foelsche
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5055–5070, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5055-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5055-2019, 2019
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This paper evaluates the rain rate estimates from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's radar instrument by comparing them to the data of the WegenerNet, a local-scale high-resolution network of meteorological stations. Our results show that the GPM-DPR estimates basically match with the WegenerNet measurements, but absolute quantities are biased.
Christoph Schlager, Gottfried Kirchengast, Juergen Fuchsberger, Alexander Kann, and Heimo Truhetz
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 2855–2873, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-2855-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-2855-2019, 2019
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Empirical high-resolution surface wind fields from two study areas, automatically generated by a weather diagnostic application, were intercompared with wind fields of different modeling approaches. The focus is on evaluating spatial differences and displacements between the different datasets. In general, the spatial verification indicates a better statistical agreement for the first study area (hilly WegenerNet Feldbach Region), than for the second one (mountainous WegenerNet Johnsbachtal).
Sungmin O and Ulrich Foelsche
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2863–2875, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2863-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2863-2019, 2019
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We analyze heavy local rainfall to address questions regarding the spatial uncertainty due to the approximation of areal rainfall using point measurements. Ten years of rainfall data from a dense network of 150 rain gauges in southeastern Austria are employed, which permits robust examination of small-scale rainfall at various horizontal resolutions. Quantitative uncertainty information from the study can guide both data users and producers to estimate uncertainty in their own rainfall dataset.
Yueqiang Sun, Weihua Bai, Congliang Liu, Yan Liu, Qifei Du, Xianyi Wang, Guanglin Yang, Mi Liao, Zhongdong Yang, Xiaoxin Zhang, Xiangguang Meng, Danyang Zhao, Junming Xia, Yuerong Cai, and Gottfried Kirchengast
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5797–5811, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5797-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5797-2018, 2018
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The GNSS Occultation Sounder (GNOS) is one of the new-generation payloads on board the Chinese FengYun 3 (FY-3) series of operational meteorological satellites for sounding the Earth’s neutral atmosphere and ionosphere. FY-3C GNOS, on board the FY-3 series C satellite launched in September 2013, was designed to acquire setting and rising radio occultation (RO) data by using GNSS signals from both the Chinese BDS and the US GPS. This paper reviews the FY-3C GNOS mission.
Christoph Schlager, Gottfried Kirchengast, and Juergen Fuchsberger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5607–5627, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5607-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5607-2018, 2018
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In this work we further developed and evaluated an operational weather diagnostic application, the WegenerNet Wind Product Generator (WPG), and applied it to the WegenerNet Johnsbachtal (JBT), a dense meteorological station network located in a mountainous Alpine region. The WPG automatically generates gridded high-resolution wind fields in near-real time with a temporal resolution of 30 min and a spatial resolution of 100 m x 100 m.
Julia Danzer, Marc Schwärz, Veronika Proschek, Ulrich Foelsche, and Hans Gleisner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4867–4882, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4867-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4867-2018, 2018
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Recently a new approach for the production of RO climatologies has been proposed. The idea is to propagate mean bending angle profiles through processing and retrieve directly climatological products of refractivity, density, pressure, and temperature. The averaging suppresses noise in the data, allowing the bending angles to be used up to 80 km without the need for background information. This work focuses on the comparison of the new climatologies between two processing centers.
Ramon Padullés, Estel Cardellach, Kuo-Nung Wang, Chi O. Ao, F. Joseph Turk, and Manuel de la Torre-Juárez
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11697–11708, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11697-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11697-2018, 2018
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In this paper we have assessed the positive difference observed between radio-occultation-retrieved refractivity and that of weather analyses and reanalyses when heavy precipitation is present. The impact of the precipitation media on the refractivity observable has been evaluated, showing that precipitation itself cannot explain the magnitude of the observed difference. Instead, the difference is shown to be linked to high specific-humidity conditions, which in turn are linked to rain.
Rodrigo Hierro, Andrea K. Steiner, Alejandro de la Torre, Peter Alexander, Pablo Llamedo, and Pablo Cremades
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3523–3539, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3523-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3523-2018, 2018
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This paper analyzed the collocated GPS radio occultation profiles near the convective systems identified from ISCCP over two orographic regions of the Alps and Andes. Gravity wave (GW) analysis over both selected regions was also carried out. The gravity wave signature from the two case studies were investigated using mesoscale WRF simulations, ERA-Interim reanalysis data, and measured RO temperature profiles. The absence of fronts or jets during both case studies reveals similar relevant GWs.
Therese Rieckh, Richard Anthes, William Randel, Shu-Peng Ho, and Ulrich Foelsche
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3091–3109, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3091-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3091-2018, 2018
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Water vapor is the most important tropospheric greenhouse gas and is also highly variable in space and time. We study the vertical structure and variability of tropospheric humidity using various observing techniques (GPS radio occultation, radiosondes, Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) and models. Time–height cross sections reveal seasonal biases for different pressure layers. We find that radio occultation humidity has high accuracy and can contribute valuable information in data assimilation.
Congliang Liu, Gottfried Kirchengast, Yueqiang Sun, Kefei Zhang, Robert Norman, Marc Schwaerz, Weihua Bai, Qifei Du, and Ying Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2427–2440, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2427-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2427-2018, 2018
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In this study, we focused on investigating the causes of the higher-order residual ionospheric error (RIE) in the GNSS RO events, by employing detailed along-ray-path analyses of atmospheric and ionospheric refractivities, impact parameter changes, and bending angles and RIEs under asymmetric and symmetric ionospheric structures. We found that the main causes of the high RIEs are a combination of physics-based effects, where asymmetric ionospheric conditions play the primary role.
Xiao Yu, Feiqin Xie, and Chi O. Ao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2051–2066, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2051-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2051-2018, 2018
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Atmospheric observations from GPS receiver satellites offer uniform spatial coverage over the Arctic. The GPS profiles sensing deep into the lowest 300 m of the atmosphere only reach 50–60 % in summer but over 70 % in other seasons. The profile uncertainty due to different data centers is within 0.07 % in refractivity, 0.72 K in temperature, and 0.05 g kg-1 in humidity below 10 km. A systematic negative bias of 1 % in refractivity below 2 km is only seen in the summer due to moisture impact.
Andrea K. Steiner, Bettina C. Lackner, and Mark A. Ringer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4657–4672, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4657-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4657-2018, 2018
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We evaluate the representation of tropical convection regimes in atmospheric climate models with satellite-based observations from GPS radio occultation. We find that models have large temperature biases in the tropopause region. In moist convection regions, models underestimate moisture up to 40 % over oceans whereas in dry regions they overestimate it by 100 %. Our findings show that RO observations are a valuable data source for the evaluation and development of next generation climate models.
Alejandro de la Torre, Peter Alexander, Torsten Schmidt, Pablo Llamedo, and Rodrigo Hierro
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1363–1375, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1363-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1363-2018, 2018
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This work is based on previous findings from our group of researchers, regarding the analysis of atmospheric data from slanted soundings during radiosoundings and GPS radio occulations. Several gravity wave climatologies may be found in the literature that to a certain extent are affected by considerable measurement distortions. We intend here to contribute to the interpretation of gravity waves analyses from slanted soundings in future climatologies.
Hallgeir Wilhelmsen, Florian Ladstädter, Barbara Scherllin-Pirscher, and Andrea K. Steiner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1333–1346, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1333-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1333-2018, 2018
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Tropical atmospheric variability is often described using proxy indices of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. We introduce new proxies derived from GNSS radio occultation (RO) satellite measurements. Using the high vertical resolution of the RO temperature fields we obtain altitude-resolved indices which can improve the description of atmospheric variability patterns and can be used in climate studies where a detailed knowledge of these patterns is required.
Panagiotis Vergados, Anthony J. Mannucci, Chi O. Ao, Olga Verkhoglyadova, and Byron Iijima
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1193–1206, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1193-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1193-2018, 2018
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This study cross-compares the 10-year record of GPS radio occultation (GPS-RO) specific humidity product against independent databases (e.g., AIRS satellite, NASA/MERRA, and ERA-Interim). Our objective is to investigate the suitability of the GPS-RO humidity as a climate variable, which the science community could use in climate research. GPS-RO offers high vertical resolution, low sensitivity to clouds, and long-term stability making GPS-RO humidity a valuable complementary data set.
Michael E. Gorbunov, Estel Cardellach, and Kent B. Lauritsen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1181–1191, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1181-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1181-2018, 2018
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We apply linear and non-linear representations of wave fields, based on Fourier integral operators and Wigner distribution function, to the retrieval of reflected rays from radio occultation observations. We introduce a reflection index that characterizes the relative intensity of the reflected ray. A comparison of indices evaluated for a large base of events including the visual identification of reflections indicated a good agreement with our definition of reflection index.
Weihua Bai, Congliang Liu, Xiangguang Meng, Yueqiang Sun, Gottfried Kirchengast, Qifei Du, Xianyi Wang, Guanglin Yang, Mi Liao, Zhongdong Yang, Danyang Zhao, Junming Xia, Yuerong Cai, Lijun Liu, and Dongwei Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 819–833, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-819-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-819-2018, 2018
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In this study we focus on evaluating zero-difference processing of BDS RO data vs. single-difference processing. From the statistics, average bias (and standard deviation) of the bending angle and refractivity profiles were found to be as small as about 0.05–0.2 % (and 0.7–1.6 %) over the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, including for the GEO, IGSO, and MEO subsets. Zero differencing was found to perform slightly better, as may be expected from its lower vulnerability to noise.
Valery Kan, Michael E. Gorbunov, and Viktoria F. Sofieva
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 663–680, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-663-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-663-2018, 2018
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We discuss the relationships that link the observed fluctuation spectra of the amplitude and phase of signals used for the radio occultation sounding of the Earth's atmosphere with the spectra of atmospheric inhomogeneities. We demonstrate that the main contribution into the radio signal fluctuations comes from the internal gravity waves. These results may serve as the basis for the global monitoring of the wave activity in the stratosphere and upper troposphere.
Petr Pisoft, Petr Sacha, Jiri Miksovsky, Peter Huszar, Barbara Scherllin-Pirscher, and Ulrich Foelsche
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 515–527, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-515-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-515-2018, 2018
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We revise selected findings regarding utilization of Global Positioning System radio occultation density profiles for analysis of internal gravity waves. The results show that previously published results are valid only for one specific data version only. Using radiosonde profiles, we also analyze a nonhydrostatic component in temperature profiles. The last part presents detailed study on the utilization of density profiles for characterization of the wave field stability.
Michael E. Gorbunov and Gottfried Kirchengast
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 111–125, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-111-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-111-2018, 2018
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We study the systematic discreapancies between atmospheric refractivity derived from radio occulation (RO) sounding of the Earth's atmosphere and the reanalyses of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. We construct a regression-based bias model. The model can be used for the RO data propagation in the new reference occultation processing system (rOPS) including the uncertainty propagation through the retrieval chain.
Sungmin O, Ulrich Foelsche, Gottfried Kirchengast, Juergen Fuchsberger, Jackson Tan, and Walter A. Petersen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 6559–6572, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6559-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6559-2017, 2017
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We evaluate gridded satellite rainfall estimates, from GPM IMERG, through a direct grid-to-grid comparison with gauge data from the WegenerNet Feldbach (WEGN) network in southeastern Austria. As the WEGN data are independent of the IMERG gauge adjustment process, we could analyze the IMERG estimates across its three different runs. Our results show the effects of additional retrieval processes on the final rainfall estimates, and consequently provide IMERG accuracy information for data users.
Barbara Angerer, Florian Ladstädter, Barbara Scherllin-Pirscher, Marc Schwärz, Andrea K. Steiner, Ulrich Foelsche, and Gottfried Kirchengast
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4845–4863, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4845-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4845-2017, 2017
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We present a detailed analysis of the latest Wegener Center GPS radio occultation reprocessing (OPSv5.6) output. Knowledge of differences in data quality, as well as of data consistency, is essential when combining data from different missions to a long-term climate record. We compare quality aspects of the various processed satellite missions and present satellite-dependent variations. Temperature data from various satellites are found to be highly consistent within 8 to 25 km.
Kuo-Nung Wang, Manuel de la Torre Juárez, Chi O. Ao, and Feiqin Xie
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4761–4776, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4761-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4761-2017, 2017
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Refractivity retrievals from GNSS radio occultation (RO) are known to be negatively biased within the planetary boundary layer (PBL). We propose an optimization-based reconstruction method in this paper to correct the negative bias with external measurements of precipitable water (PW). Our results show that the proposed method can greatly reduce the bias and better characterize the PBL.
Lukas Brunner and Andrea K. Steiner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4727–4745, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4727-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4727-2017, 2017
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Atmospheric blocking is a weather pattern where a stable high pressure system blocks the westerly flow at mid-latitudes. We provide, for the first time, a global perspective on blocking and related impacts, based on satellite observations from GPS radio occultation for 2006–2016. We find strong direct and remote effects on the vertical atmospheric structure revealing significant temperature and humidity anomalies up to 15 km. The observations will help for a better insight into blocking impacts.
Miquel Garcia-Fernandez, Manuel Hernandez-Pajares, Antonio Rius, Riccardo Notarpietro, Axel von Engeln, and Yannick Béniguel
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2017-217, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2017-217, 2017
Revised manuscript not accepted
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This paper presents a data-driven model of the ionospheric electron density that has been developed for the EUMETSAT Polar System - Second Generation mission, with the main goal to improve the inversion of radio occultations for neutral atmospheric sounding. This model has been developed using occultation data from the COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 satellite, which has been inverted using a LMS-based mechanization of the Abel inversion that implements the separability hypothesis.
Friederike Lilienthal, Christoph Jacobi, Torsten Schmidt, Alejandro de la Torre, and Peter Alexander
Ann. Geophys., 35, 785–798, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-785-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-785-2017, 2017
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Gravity waves (GWs) are one of the most important dynamical features of the middle atmosphere that extends from the tropopause to the lower thermosphere. They originate from the troposphere and propagate upward. Here, we show the impact of the horizontal GW distribution in the lower atmosphere on the dynamics of the middle atmosphere using a global circulation model. As a result, we find that non-zonal GW structures can force additional stationary planetary waves.
Therese Rieckh, Richard Anthes, William Randel, Shu-Peng Ho, and Ulrich Foelsche
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 1093–1110, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1093-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1093-2017, 2017
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We use GPS radio occultation (RO) data to investigate the structure and temporal behavior of extremely dry, high-ozone tropospheric air in the tropical western Pacific and compare them to various data sets (research aircraft, radiosonde, infrared sounder, and model reanalyses). All these data sets have limitations. We show that the RO data contribute significant information on the water vapor content. Our results also verify the quality of the reanalyses.
Barbara Scherllin-Pirscher, William J. Randel, and Joowan Kim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 793–806, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-793-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-793-2017, 2017
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Tropical temperature variability and associated Kelvin-wave activity are investigated from 10 km to 30 km using 13 years of high-resolution observational data. Strongest temperature variability is found in the tropical tropopause region between about 16 km and 20 km, where peaks of Kelvin-wave activity are irregularly distributed in time. Detailed knowledge of dynamical processes in the tropical tropopause region is an essential part of better understanding climate variability and change.
Esayas Shume and Chi Ao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3175–3182, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3175-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3175-2016, 2016
Fadwa Alshawaf, Galina Dick, Stefan Heise, Tzvetan Simeonov, Sibylle Vey, Torsten Schmidt, and Jens Wickert
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2016-151, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2016-151, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
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In this work, we use time series from GNSS, European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis (ERA-Interim) data, and meteorological measurements to evaluate climate evolution in Central Europe. We monitor different atmospheric variables such as temperature, PWV, precipitation, and snow cover. The results show an increasing trend the water vapor time series that are correlated with the trend the temperature tme series. The average increase of water vapor is about 0.3–0.6 mm/decade .
Lukas Brunner, Andrea K. Steiner, Barbara Scherllin-Pirscher, and Martin W. Jury
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4593–4604, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4593-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4593-2016, 2016
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Atmospheric blocking refers to persistent high-pressure systems which block the climatological flow at midlatitudes. We explore blocking with observations from GPS radio occultation (RO), a satellite-based remote-sensing system. Using two example cases, we find that RO data robustly capture blocking, highlighting the potential of RO observations to complement models and reanalysis as a basis for blocking research.
Marc Olefs, Dietmar J. Baumgartner, Friedrich Obleitner, Christoph Bichler, Ulrich Foelsche, Helga Pietsch, Harald E. Rieder, Philipp Weihs, Florian Geyer, Thomas Haiden, and Wolfgang Schöner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1513–1531, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1513-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1513-2016, 2016
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We present the Austrian RADiation monitoring network (ARAD) that has been established to advance national climate monitoring and to support satellite retrieval, atmospheric modeling and solar energy techniques' development. Measurements cover the downwelling solar and thermal infrared radiation using instruments according to Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) standards. The paper outlines the aims and scopes of ARAD, its measurement and calibration standards, methods and strategies.
Remko Scharroo, Hans Bonekamp, Christelle Ponsard, François Parisot, Axel von Engeln, Milen Tahtadjiev, Kristiaan de Vriendt, and François Montagner
Ocean Sci., 12, 471–479, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-471-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-471-2016, 2016
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The Sentinel-6 mission is proposed as a multi-partner programme to continue the Jason satellite altimeter data services beyond the Jason-2 and Jason-3 missions. The Sentinel-6 mission programme consists of two identical satellites flying in sequence to prolong the climate data record of sea level accumulated by the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, and Jason-3 missions from 2020 to beyond 2030.
Z. Zeng, S. Sokolovskiy, W. Schreiner, D. Hunt, J. Lin, and Y.-H. Kuo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 335–346, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-335-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-335-2016, 2016
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This study discusses the ionospheric correction problem of RO data in the troposphere and investigates an optimal transition height (OTH) for replacing the standard linear combination method by the L1–L2 bending angle extrapolated from above. By comparing the RO ionosphere-free bending angles with the ECMWF global forecast ones, the OTH is found when it gives the minimal standard deviations. The results show the OTH depends mainly on the L2 signal and is ~20 km for COSMIC L2P and ~10 km for L2C.
R. Padullés, E. Cardellach, M. de la Torre Juárez, S. Tomás, F. J. Turk, S. Oliveras, C. O. Ao, and A. Rius
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 635–649, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-635-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-635-2016, 2016
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The ROHP-PAZ mission will collect, for the first time, GPS radio occultations at two polarizations with the aim of characterizing rain. Prior to the mission's launch (2016), a field campaign has been conducted to identify and understand the measurements. In this study we present the set-up and the results of such a campaign: the main finding is the confirmation of sensitivity to heavy rain and, unexpectedly, to other frozen hydrometeors. This is key information for the spaceborne experiment.
Riccardo Biondi, Andrea Steiner, Gottfried Kirchengast, Hugues Brenot, and Therese Rieckh
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2015-974, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2015-974, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Cloud structure and cloud top height are key parameters for the monitoring of volcanic cloud movement and for characterizing eruptive processes and understanding the impact on short-term climate variability.
We have studied the eruption of Nabro volcano, which has been recognized as the largest stratospheric sulfur injection since Pinatubo (1991) and we have found a clear warming signature after the eruption of Nabro persisting for a few months.
T.-K. Wee and Y.-H. Kuo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4281–4294, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4281-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4281-2015, 2015
Y. Li, G. Kirchengast, B. Scherllin-Pirscher, R. Norman, Y. B. Yuan, J. Fritzer, M. Schwaerz, and K. Zhang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3447–3465, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3447-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3447-2015, 2015
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We introduce a new dynamic statistical optimization algorithm to initialize ionosphere-corrected bending angles of Global Navigation Satellite System-based radio occultation measurements. The new algorithm is evaluated against the OPSv5.6 algorithm developed by the Wegener Center using both simulated and real observed data. It is found that the algorithm can significantly reduce the random errors of optimized bending angles. The retrieved refractivity and temperature profiles are also benefited.
V. Proschek, G. Kirchengast, S. Schweitzer, J. S. A. Brooke, P. F. Bernath, C. B. Thomas, J.-G. Wang, K. A. Tereszchuk, G. González Abad, R. J. Hargreaves, C. A. Beale, J. J. Harrison, P. A. Martin, V. L. Kasyutich, C. Gerbig, O. Kolle, and A. Loescher
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3315–3336, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3315-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3315-2015, 2015
C. L. Liu, G. Kirchengast, K. Zhang, R. Norman, Y. Li, S. C. Zhang, J. Fritzer, M. Schwaerz, S. Q. Wu, and Z. X. Tan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2999–3019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2999-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2999-2015, 2015
A. Plach, V. Proschek, and G. Kirchengast
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2813–2825, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2813-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2813-2015, 2015
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This paper discusses simulation results of a newly developed line-of-sight wind retrieval algorithm expanding an existing simulation framework that includes the retrieval of thermodynamic variables and greenhouse gases in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere region. The underlying mission concept further develops the radio occultation technique (i.e. satellite remote sensing technique scanning the atmosphere with high vertical resolution) employing microwave and infrared-laser signals.
Y.-C. Chen, M.-E. Hsieh, L.-F. Hsiao, Y.-H. Kuo, M.-J. Yang, C.-Y. Huang, and C.-S. Lee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2531–2542, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2531-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2531-2015, 2015
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We systematically evaluated the impact of GPSRO data on typhoon track prediction over the Northwestern Pacific during 2008 to 2010. Specifically, we perform data assimilation and forecast experiments using the TWRF system at 45km resolution on 11 typhoons, with or without the use of GPSRO refractivity. The results indicate that the assimilation of GPSRO reduces the 72-hour track forecast errors by ~12km (5 %). Although this is only a modest improvement, it is statistically significant.
W. Wang, K. Matthes, and T. Schmidt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 5815–5826, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-5815-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-5815-2015, 2015
R. Biondi, A. K. Steiner, G. Kirchengast, and T. Rieckh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 5181–5193, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-5181-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-5181-2015, 2015
F. Ladstädter, A. K. Steiner, M. Schwärz, and G. Kirchengast
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1819–1834, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1819-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1819-2015, 2015
P. Vergados, A. J. Mannucci, C. O. Ao, J. H. Jiang, and H. Su
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1789–1797, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1789-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1789-2015, 2015
A. Kann, I. Meirold-Mautner, F. Schmid, G. Kirchengast, J. Fuchsberger, V. Meyer, L. Tüchler, and B. Bica
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 1547–1559, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1547-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1547-2015, 2015
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The paper introduces a high resolution precipitation analysis system which operates on 1 km x 1 km resolution with high frequency updates of 5 minutes. The ability of such a system to adequately assess the convective precipitation distribution is evaluated by means of an independant, high resolution station network. This dense station network allows for a thorough evaluation of the analyses under different convective situations and of the representativeness error of raingaue measurements.
X. Yue, W. S. Schreiner, Z. Zeng, Y.-H. Kuo, and X. Xue
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 225–236, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-225-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-225-2015, 2015
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The occurrence of sporadic E (Es) layers has been a hot scientific topic for a long time. GNSS (global navigation satellite system)-based radio occultation (RO) has proven to be a powerful technique for detecting the global Es layers. In this paper, we show some examples of multiple Es layers occurring in one RO event and the occurrence of Es in a broad region during a certain time interval. The results are then evaluated by independent observations such as lidar and ionosondes.
B. Scherllin-Pirscher, S. Syndergaard, U. Foelsche, and K. B. Lauritsen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 109–124, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-109-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-109-2015, 2015
F. Zus, G. Beyerle, S. Heise, T. Schmidt, and J. Wickert
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amtd-7-12719-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amtd-7-12719-2014, 2014
Preprint withdrawn
P. Šácha, U. Foelsche, and P. Pišoft
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 4123–4132, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4123-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4123-2014, 2014
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In the presented paper, we introduce a method for the density background separation and a methodology for internal gravity waves analysis using the GPS RO density profiles. Various background choices are discussed, and the correspondence between analytical forms of the density and dry temperature background profiles is examined. Finally the advantages of the density instead of dry temperature GPS RO data utilization are listed (e.g. inclusion of non-hydrostatic waves).
J. Danzer, H. Gleisner, and S. B. Healy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 4071–4079, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4071-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4071-2014, 2014
T. Rieckh, B. Scherllin-Pirscher, F. Ladstädter, and U. Foelsche
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 3947–3958, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3947-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3947-2014, 2014
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Radio Occultation (RO) observations featuring high vertical resolution, global availability, and high accuracy were used to investigate global characteristics of the lapse rate tropopause. Climatological tropopause characteristics for the
RO record from 2001 to 2013 extend previous studies on tropopause structure and its temporal variability. Latitudinal and longitudinal variations as well as the annual cycle and inter-annual variability were analyzed for the tropopause altitude and temperature.
J. Danzer, U. Foelsche, B. Scherllin-Pirscher, and M. Schwärz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2883–2896, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2883-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2883-2014, 2014
E. B. Shume, A. J. Mannucci, and R. Caton
Ann. Geophys., 32, 293–300, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-32-293-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-32-293-2014, 2014
A. Faber, P. Llamedo, T. Schmidt, A. de la Torre, and J. Wickert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 3169–3180, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-3169-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-3169-2013, 2013
J. Danzer, B. Scherllin-Pirscher, and U. Foelsche
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2169–2179, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2169-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2169-2013, 2013
H. Gleisner and S. B. Healy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 121–129, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-121-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-121-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Dynamics | Research Activity: Remote Sensing | Altitude Range: Stratosphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Aeolus wind lidar observations of the 2019/2020 quasi-biennial oscillation disruption with comparison to radiosondes and reanalysis
Convective gravity wave events during summer near 54° N, present in both AIRS and Rayleigh–Mie–Raman (RMR) lidar observations
Observational perspective on SSWs and blocking from EP fluxes
Signatures of the Madden–Julian oscillation in middle-atmosphere zonal mean temperature: triggering the interhemispheric coupling pattern
The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) and global-scale tropical waves in Aeolus wind observations, radiosonde data, and reanalyses
Vertical structure of the lower-stratospheric moist bias in the ERA5 reanalysis and its connection to mixing processes
Intermittency of gravity wave potential energies and absolute momentum fluxes derived from infrared limb sounding satellite observations
The evolution and dynamics of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai sulfate aerosol plume in the stratosphere
Stratospheric water vapour and ozone response to the quasi-biennial oscillation disruptions in 2016 and 2020
A new methodology for measuring traveling quasi-5-day oscillations during sudden stratospheric warming events based on satellite observations
The middle atmospheric meridional circulation for 2002–2012 derived from MIPAS observations
Stratospheric gravity waves over the mountainous island of South Georgia: testing a high-resolution dynamical model with 3-D satellite observations and radiosondes
Smoke-charged vortices in the stratosphere generated by wildfires and their behaviour in both hemispheres: comparing Australia 2020 to Canada 2017
Using a network of temperature lidars to identify temperature biases in the upper stratosphere in ECMWF reanalyses
Direct inversion of circulation from tracer measurements – Part 2: Sensitivity studies and model recovery tests
Record low ozone values over the Arctic in boreal spring 2020
New insights into Rossby wave packet properties in the extratropical UTLS using GNSS radio occultations
Superposition of gravity waves with different propagation characteristics observed by airborne and space-borne infrared sounders
First measurements of tides in the stratosphere and lower mesosphere by ground-based Doppler microwave wind radiometry
Gravity waves in the winter stratosphere over the Southern Ocean: high-resolution satellite observations and 3-D spectral analysis
Comparison of equatorial wave activity in the tropical tropopause layer and stratosphere represented in reanalyses
Investigation of Arctic middle-atmospheric dynamics using 3 years of H2O and O3 measurements from microwave radiometers at Ny-Ålesund
Influence of ENSO and MJO on the zonal structure of tropical tropopause inversion layer using high-resolution temperature profiles retrieved from COSMIC GPS Radio Occultation
How well do stratospheric reanalyses reproduce high-resolution satellite temperature measurements?
First tomographic observations of gravity waves by the infrared limb imager GLORIA
Shift of subtropical transport barriers explains observed hemispheric asymmetry of decadal trends of age of air
Exploring gravity wave characteristics in 3-D using a novel S-transform technique: AIRS/Aqua measurements over the Southern Andes and Drake Passage
A decadal satellite record of gravity wave activity in the lower stratosphere to study polar stratospheric cloud formation
Evolution of the eastward shift in the quasi-stationary minimum of the Antarctic total ozone column
Tropical temperature variability and Kelvin-wave activity in the UTLS from GPS RO measurements
The major stratospheric final warming in 2016: dispersal of vortex air and termination of Arctic chemical ozone loss
The tropical tropopause inversion layer: variability and modulation by equatorial waves
Satellite observations of middle atmosphere gravity wave absolute momentum flux and of its vertical gradient during recent stratospheric warmings
Stratospheric gravity waves at Southern Hemisphere orographic hotspots: 2003–2014 AIRS/Aqua observations
Global temperature response to the major volcanic eruptions in multiple reanalysis data sets
Reassessment of MIPAS age of air trends and variability
Enhanced internal gravity wave activity and breaking over the northeastern Pacific–eastern Asian region
Global distributions of overlapping gravity waves in HIRDLS data
The southern stratospheric gravity wave hot spot: individual waves and their momentum fluxes measured by COSMIC GPS-RO
Methane as a diagnostic tracer of changes in the Brewer–Dobson circulation of the stratosphere
The influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation and El Niño–Southern Oscillation on mean and extreme values of column ozone over the United States
Short vertical-wavelength inertia-gravity waves generated by a jet–front system at Arctic latitudes – VHF radar, radiosondes and numerical modelling
A climatology of the diurnal variations in stratospheric and mesospheric ozone over Bern, Switzerland
Long-term changes in the upper stratospheric ozone at Syowa, Antarctica
Estimates of turbulent diffusivities and energy dissipation rates from satellite measurements of spectra of stratospheric refractivity perturbations
Observations of filamentary structures near the vortex edge in the Arctic winter lower stratosphere
Impact of land convection on temperature diurnal variation in the tropical lower stratosphere inferred from COSMIC GPS radio occultations
Observation of horizontal winds in the middle-atmosphere between 30° S and 55° N during the northern winter 2009–2010
Variability in the speed of the Brewer–Dobson circulation as observed by Aura/MLS
Simultaneous occurrence of polar stratospheric clouds and upper-tropospheric clouds caused by blocking anticyclones in the Southern Hemisphere
Timothy P. Banyard, Corwin J. Wright, Scott M. Osprey, Neil P. Hindley, Gemma Halloran, Lawrence Coy, Paul A. Newman, Neal Butchart, Martina Bramberger, and M. Joan Alexander
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2465–2490, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2465-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2465-2024, 2024
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In 2019/2020, the tropical stratospheric wind phenomenon known as the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) was disrupted for only the second time in the historical record. This was poorly forecasted, and we want to understand why. We used measurements from the first Doppler wind lidar in space, Aeolus, to observe the disruption in an unprecedented way. Our results reveal important differences between Aeolus and the ERA5 reanalysis that affect the timing of the disruption's onset and its evolution.
Eframir Franco-Diaz, Michael Gerding, Laura Holt, Irina Strelnikova, Robin Wing, Gerd Baumgarten, and Franz-Josef Lübken
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1543–1558, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1543-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1543-2024, 2024
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We use satellite, lidar, and ECMWF data to study storm-related waves that propagate above Kühlungsborn, Germany, during summer. Although these events occur in roughly half of the years of the satellite data we analyzed, we focus our study on two case study years (2014 and 2015). These events could contribute significantly to middle atmospheric circulation and are not accounted for in weather and climate models.
Kamilya Yessimbet, Andrea K. Steiner, Florian Ladstädter, and Albert C. Ossó
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2916, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2916, 2024
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Major sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) and atmospheric blocking can significantly influence winter extratropical surface weather. To study the relationship between SSWs and blocking, we examine dynamic stratosphere-troposphere coupling using vertically high-resolved observations from Global Navigation Satellite System radio occultation for 2007–2019. Our results provide a purely observational view on the evolution of the major SSWs, their link to blocking, and effect on the polar tropopause.
Christoph G. Hoffmann, Lena G. Buth, and Christian von Savigny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12781–12799, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12781-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12781-2023, 2023
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The Madden–Julian oscillation is an important feature of weather in the tropics. Although it is mainly active in the troposphere, we show that it systematically influences the air temperature in the layers above, up to about 100 km altitude and from pole to pole. We have linked this to another known far-reaching process, interhemispheric coupling. This is basic research on atmospheric couplings and variability but might also be of interest for intraseasonal weather forecasting models.
Manfred Ern, Mohamadou A. Diallo, Dina Khordakova, Isabell Krisch, Peter Preusse, Oliver Reitebuch, Jörn Ungermann, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9549–9583, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9549-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9549-2023, 2023
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Quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) of the stratospheric tropical winds is an important mode of climate variability but is not well reproduced in free-running climate models. We use the novel global wind observations by the Aeolus satellite and radiosondes to show that the QBO is captured well in three modern reanalyses (ERA-5, JRA-55, and MERRA-2). Good agreement is also found also between Aeolus and reanalyses for large-scale tropical wave modes in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere.
Konstantin Krüger, Andreas Schäfler, Martin Wirth, Martin Weissmann, and George C. Craig
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15559–15577, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15559-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15559-2022, 2022
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A comprehensive data set of airborne lidar water vapour profiles is compared with ERA5 reanalyses for a robust characterization of the vertical structure of the mid-latitude lower-stratospheric moist bias. We confirm a moist bias of up to 55 % at 1.3 km altitude above the tropopause and uncover a decreasing bias beyond. Collocated O3 and H2O observations reveal a particularly strong bias in the mixing layer, indicating insufficiently modelled transport processes fostering the bias.
Manfred Ern, Peter Preusse, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15093–15133, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15093-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15093-2022, 2022
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Based on data from the HIRDLS and SABER infrared limb sounding satellite instruments, we investigate the intermittency of global distributions of gravity wave (GW) potential energies and GW momentum fluxes in the stratosphere and mesosphere using probability distribution functions (PDFs) and Gini coefficients. We compare GW intermittency in different regions, seasons, and altitudes. These results can help to improve GW parameterizations and the distributions of GWs resolved in models.
Bernard Legras, Clair Duchamp, Pasquale Sellitto, Aurélien Podglajen, Elisa Carboni, Richard Siddans, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Sergey Khaykin, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14957–14970, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14957-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14957-2022, 2022
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The long-duration atmospheric impact of the Tonga eruption in January 2022 is a plume of water and sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere that persisted for more than 6 months. We study this evolution using several satellite instruments and analyse the unusual behaviour of this plume as sulfates and water first moved down rapidly and then separated into two layers. We also report the self-organization in compact and long-lived patches.
Mohamadou A. Diallo, Felix Ploeger, Michaela I. Hegglin, Manfred Ern, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Sergey Khaykin, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14303–14321, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14303-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14303-2022, 2022
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The quasi-biennial oacillation disruption events in both 2016 and 2020 decreased lower-stratospheric water vapour and ozone. Differences in the strength and depth of the anomalous lower-stratospheric circulation and ozone are due to differences in tropical upwelling and cold-point temperature induced by lower-stratospheric planetary and gravity wave breaking. The differences in water vapour are due to higher cold-point temperature in 2020 induced by Australian wildfire.
Zheng Ma, Yun Gong, Shaodong Zhang, Qiao Xiao, Chunming Huang, and Kaiming Huang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13725–13737, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13725-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13725-2022, 2022
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We present a novel method to measure the amplitudes of traveling quasi-5-day oscillations (Q5DOs) in the middle atmosphere during sudden stratospheric warming events based on satellite observations. Simulations and observations demonstrate that the previously reported traveling Q5DOs might be contaminated by stationary planetary waves (SPWs). The new fitting method is developed by inhibiting the effect of a rapid and large change in SPWs.
Thomas von Clarmann, Udo Grabowski, Gabriele P. Stiller, Beatriz M. Monge-Sanz, Norbert Glatthor, and Sylvia Kellmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8823–8843, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8823-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8823-2021, 2021
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Measurements of long-lived trace gases (SF6, CFC-11, CFC-12, HCFC-12, CCl4, N2O, CH4, H2O, and CO) performed with the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) have been used to infer the stratospheric and mesospheric meridional circulation. The MIPAS data set covers the time period from July 2002 to April 2012. The method used for this purpose was the direct inversion of the two-dimensional continuity equation. Multiannual monthly mean circulation fields are presented.
Neil P. Hindley, Corwin J. Wright, Alan M. Gadian, Lars Hoffmann, John K. Hughes, David R. Jackson, John C. King, Nicholas J. Mitchell, Tracy Moffat-Griffin, Andrew C. Moss, Simon B. Vosper, and Andrew N. Ross
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7695–7722, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7695-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7695-2021, 2021
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One limitation of numerical atmospheric models is spatial resolution. For atmospheric gravity waves (GWs) generated over small mountainous islands, the driving effect of these waves on atmospheric circulations can be underestimated. Here we use a specialised high-resolution model over South Georgia island to compare simulated stratospheric GWs to colocated 3-D satellite observations. We find reasonable model agreement with observations, with some GW amplitudes much larger than expected.
Hugo Lestrelin, Bernard Legras, Aurélien Podglajen, and Mikail Salihoglu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7113–7134, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7113-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7113-2021, 2021
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Following the 2020 Australian fires, it was recently discovered that stratospheric wildfire smoke plumes self-organize as anticyclonic vortices that persist for months and rise by 10 km due to the radiative heating from the absorbing smoke. In this study, we show that smoke-charged vortices previously occurred in the aftermath of the 2017 Canadian fires. We use meteorological analysis to characterize this new object in geophysical fluid dynamics, which likely impacts radiation and climate.
Graeme Marlton, Andrew Charlton-Perez, Giles Harrison, Inna Polichtchouk, Alain Hauchecorne, Philippe Keckhut, Robin Wing, Thierry Leblanc, and Wolfgang Steinbrecht
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6079–6092, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6079-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6079-2021, 2021
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A network of Rayleigh lidars have been used to infer the upper-stratosphere temperature bias in ECMWF ERA-5 and ERA-Interim reanalyses during 1990–2017. Results show that ERA-Interim exhibits a cold bias of −3 to −4 K between 10 and 1 hPa. Comparisons with ERA-5 found a smaller bias of 1 K which varies between cold and warm between 10 and 3 hPa, indicating a good thermal representation of the atmosphere to 3 hPa. These biases must be accounted for in stratospheric studies using these reanalyses.
Thomas von Clarmann and Udo Grabowski
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2509–2526, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2509-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2509-2021, 2021
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The direct inversion of the 2D continuity equation allows us to infer the effective meridional transport velocity of trace gases in the middle stratosphere. This method exploits the information both given by the displacement of patterns in measured trace gas distributions and by the approximate balance between sinks and horizontal as well as vertical advection. The robustness of this method has been tested and characterized using model recovery tests and sensitivity studies.
Martin Dameris, Diego G. Loyola, Matthias Nützel, Melanie Coldewey-Egbers, Christophe Lerot, Fabian Romahn, and Michel van Roozendael
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 617–633, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-617-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-617-2021, 2021
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Record low ozone values were observed in March 2020. Dynamical and chemical circumstances leading to low ozone values in spring 2020 are discussed and are compared to similar dynamical conditions in the Northern Hemisphere in 1996/1997 and 2010/2011. 2019/2020 showed an unusual persistent polar vortex with low stratospheric temperatures, which were permanently below 195 K at 50 hPa. This enabled enhanced formation of polar stratospheric clouds and a subsequent clear reduction of total ozone.
Robin Pilch Kedzierski, Katja Matthes, and Karl Bumke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11569–11592, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11569-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11569-2020, 2020
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Rossby wave packet (RWP) dynamics are crucial for weather forecasting, climate change projections and stratosphere–troposphere interactions. Our study is a first attempt to describe RWP behavior in the UTLS with global coverage directly from observations, using GNSS-RO data. Our novel results show an interesting relation of RWP vertical propagation with sudden stratospheric warmings and provide very useful information to improve RWP diagnostics in models and reanalysis.
Isabell Krisch, Manfred Ern, Lars Hoffmann, Peter Preusse, Cornelia Strube, Jörn Ungermann, Wolfgang Woiwode, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11469–11490, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11469-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11469-2020, 2020
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In 2016, a scientific research flight above Scandinavia acquired various atmospheric data (temperature, gas composition, etc.). Through advanced 3-D reconstruction methods, a superposition of multiple gravity waves was identified. An in-depth analysis enabled the characterisation of these waves as well as the identification of their sources. This work will enable a better understanding of atmosphere dynamics and could lead to improved climate projections.
Jonas Hagen, Klemens Hocke, Gunter Stober, Simon Pfreundschuh, Axel Murk, and Niklaus Kämpfer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 2367–2386, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2367-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2367-2020, 2020
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The middle atmosphere (30 to 70 km altitude) is stratified and, despite very strong horizontal winds, there is less mixing between the horizontal layers. An important driver for the energy exchange between the layers in this regime is atmospheric tides, which are waves that are driven by the diurnal cycle of solar heating. We measure these tides in the wind field for the first time using a ground-based passive instrument. Ultimately, such measurements could be used to improve atmospheric models.
Neil P. Hindley, Corwin J. Wright, Nathan D. Smith, Lars Hoffmann, Laura A. Holt, M. Joan Alexander, Tracy Moffat-Griffin, and Nicholas J. Mitchell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15377–15414, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15377-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15377-2019, 2019
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In this study, a 3–D Stockwell transform is applied to AIRS–Aqua satellite observations in the first extended 3–D study of stratospheric gravity waves over the Southern Ocean during winter. A dynamic environment is revealed that contains some of the most intense gravity wave sources on Earth. A particularly striking result is a large–scale meridional convergence of gravity wave momentum flux towards latitudes near 60 °S, something which is not normally considered in model parameterisations.
Young-Ha Kim, George N. Kiladis, John R. Albers, Juliana Dias, Masatomo Fujiwara, James A. Anstey, In-Sun Song, Corwin J. Wright, Yoshio Kawatani, François Lott, and Changhyun Yoo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10027–10050, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10027-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10027-2019, 2019
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Reanalyses are widely used products of meteorological variables, generated using observational data and assimilation systems. We compare six modern reanalyses, with focus on their representation of equatorial waves which are important in stratospheric variability and stratosphere–troposphere exchange. Agreement/spreads among the reanalyses in the spectral properties and spatial distributions of the waves are examined, and satellite impacts on the wave representation in reanalyses are discussed.
Franziska Schranz, Brigitte Tschanz, Rolf Rüfenacht, Klemens Hocke, Mathias Palm, and Niklaus Kämpfer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 9927–9947, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9927-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9927-2019, 2019
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The dynamics of the Arctic middle atmosphere above Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard (79° N, 12° E) is investigated using 3 years of H2O and O3 measurements from ground-based microwave radiometers. We found the signals of atmospheric phenomena like sudden stratospheric warmings, polar vortex shifts, effective descent rates of water vapour and periodicities in our data. Additionally, a comprehensive intercomparison is performed with models and measurements from ground-based, in situ and satellite instruments.
Noersomadi, Toshitaka Tsuda, and Masatomo Fujiwara
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6985–7000, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6985-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6985-2019, 2019
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Characteristics of static stability (N2) in the tropical tropopause are analyzed using 0.1 km vertical resolution temperature profiles retrieved from COSMIC GNSS-RO. We define the tropopause inversion layer (TIL) by the sharp increase in N2 across the cold point tropopause (CPT) and the thickness of the enhanced peak in N2 just above the CPT. We investigated the TIL at the intraseasonal to interannual timescales above the Maritime Continent and Pacific Ocean with different land–sea distribution.
Corwin J. Wright and Neil P. Hindley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13703–13731, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13703-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13703-2018, 2018
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Reanalyses (RAs) are models which assimilate observations and are widely used as proxies for the true atmospheric state. Here, we resample six leading RAs using the weighting functions of four high-res satellite instruments, allowing a like-for-like comparison. We find that the RAs generally reproduce the satellite data well, except at high altitudes and in the tropics. However, we also find that the RAs more tightly correlate with each other than with observations, even those they assimilate.
Isabell Krisch, Peter Preusse, Jörn Ungermann, Andreas Dörnbrack, Stephen D. Eckermann, Manfred Ern, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Martin Kaufmann, Hermann Oelhaf, Markus Rapp, Cornelia Strube, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 14937–14953, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14937-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14937-2017, 2017
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Using the infrared limb imager GLORIA, the 3-D structure of mesoscale gravity waves in the lower stratosphere was measured for the first time, allowing for a complete 3-D characterization of the waves. This enables the precise determination of the sources of the waves in the mountain regions of Iceland with backward ray tracing. Forward ray tracing shows oblique propagation, an effect generally neglected in global atmospheric models.
Gabriele P. Stiller, Federico Fierli, Felix Ploeger, Chiara Cagnazzo, Bernd Funke, Florian J. Haenel, Thomas Reddmann, Martin Riese, and Thomas von Clarmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 11177–11192, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11177-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11177-2017, 2017
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The discrepancy between modelled and observed 25-year trends of the strength of the stratospheric Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC) is still not resolved. With our paper we trace the observed hemispheric dipole structure of age of air trends back to natural variability in shorter-term (decadal) time frames. Beyond this we demonstrate that after correction for the decadal natural variability the remaining trend for the first decade of the 21st century is consistent with model simulations.
Corwin J. Wright, Neil P. Hindley, Lars Hoffmann, M. Joan Alexander, and Nicholas J. Mitchell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8553–8575, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8553-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8553-2017, 2017
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We introduce a novel 3-D method of measuring atmospheric gravity waves, based around a 3-D Stockwell transform. Our method lets us measure new properties, including wave intrinsic frequencies and phase and group velocities. We apply it to data from the AIRS satellite instrument over the Southern Andes for two consecutive winters. Our results show clear evidence that the waves measured are primarily orographic in origin, and that their group velocity vectors are focused into the polar night jet.
Lars Hoffmann, Reinhold Spang, Andrew Orr, M. Joan Alexander, Laura A. Holt, and Olaf Stein
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 2901–2920, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2901-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2901-2017, 2017
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We introduce a 10-year record (2003–2012) of AIRS/Aqua observations of gravity waves in the polar lower stratosphere. The data set was optimized to study the impact of gravity waves on the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). We discuss the temporal and spatial patterns of gravity wave activity, validate explicitly resolved small-scale temperature fluctuations in the ECMWF data, and present a survey of gravity-wave-induced PSC formation events using joint AIRS and MIPAS observations.
Asen Grytsai, Andrew Klekociuk, Gennadi Milinevsky, Oleksandr Evtushevsky, and Kane Stone
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1741–1758, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1741-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1741-2017, 2017
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Twenty years ago we discovered that the ozone hole shape is asymmetric. This asymmetry is minimum over the Weddell Sea region and maximum over the Ross Sea area. Later we detected that the position of the ozone minimum is shifting east. We have continued to follow this event, and a couple years ago we revealed that the shift is slowing down and starting to move back. We connect all this movement with ozone hole increase; since 2000 the ozone layer has been stabilizing and recently recovering.
Barbara Scherllin-Pirscher, William J. Randel, and Joowan Kim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 793–806, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-793-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-793-2017, 2017
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Tropical temperature variability and associated Kelvin-wave activity are investigated from 10 km to 30 km using 13 years of high-resolution observational data. Strongest temperature variability is found in the tropical tropopause region between about 16 km and 20 km, where peaks of Kelvin-wave activity are irregularly distributed in time. Detailed knowledge of dynamical processes in the tropical tropopause region is an essential part of better understanding climate variability and change.
Gloria L. Manney and Zachary D. Lawrence
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15371–15396, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15371-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15371-2016, 2016
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The 2015/16 Arctic winter stratosphere was the coldest on record through late February, raising the possibility of extensive chemical ozone loss. However, a major final sudden stratospheric warming in early March curtailed ozone destruction. We used Aura MLS satellite trace gas data and MERRA-2 meteorological data to show the details of transport, mixing, and dispersal of chemically processed air during the major final warming, and how these processes limited Arctic chemical ozone loss.
Robin Pilch Kedzierski, Katja Matthes, and Karl Bumke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 11617–11633, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11617-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11617-2016, 2016
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This study provides a detailed overview of the daily variability of the tropopause inversion layer (TIL) in the tropics, where TIL research had focused little. The vertical and horizontal structures of this atmospheric layer are described and linked to near-tropopause horizontal wind divergence, the QBO and especially to equatorial waves. Our results increase the knowledge about the observed properties of the tropical TIL, mainly using satellite GPS radio-occultation measurements.
Manfred Ern, Quang Thai Trinh, Martin Kaufmann, Isabell Krisch, Peter Preusse, Jörn Ungermann, Yajun Zhu, John C. Gille, Martin G. Mlynczak, James M. Russell III, Michael J. Schwartz, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9983–10019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9983-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9983-2016, 2016
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Sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) influence the atmospheric circulation over a large range of altitudes and latitudes. We investigate the global distribution of small-scale gravity waves (GWs) during SSWs as derived from 13 years of satellite observations.
We find that GWs may play an important role for triggering SSWs by preconditioning the polar vortex, as well as during long-lasting vortex recovery phases after SSWs. The GW distribution during SSWs displays strong day-to-day variability.
Lars Hoffmann, Alison W. Grimsdell, and M. Joan Alexander
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9381–9397, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9381-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9381-2016, 2016
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We present a 12-year record (2003-2014) of stratospheric gravity wave activity at Southern Hemisphere orographic hotspots as observed by the AIRS/Aqua satellite instrument. We introduce a method to discriminate between gravity waves from orographic or other sources and propose a simple model to predict the occurrence of mountain waves using zonal wind thresholds. The prediction model can help to disentangle upper level wind effects from low level source and other influences.
M. Fujiwara, T. Hibino, S. K. Mehta, L. Gray, D. Mitchell, and J. Anstey
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13507–13518, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13507-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13507-2015, 2015
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This paper evaluates the temperature response in the troposphere and the stratosphere to the three major volcanic eruptions between the 1960s and the 1990s by comparing nine reanalysis data sets. It was found that the volcanic temperature response patterns differ among the major eruptions and that in general, more recent reanalysis data sets show a more consistent response pattern.
F. J. Haenel, G. P. Stiller, T. von Clarmann, B. Funke, E. Eckert, N. Glatthor, U. Grabowski, S. Kellmann, M. Kiefer, A. Linden, and T. Reddmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13161–13176, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13161-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13161-2015, 2015
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Stratospheric circulation is thought to change as a consequence of climate change. Empirical evidence, however, is sparse. In this paper we present latitude- and altitude-resolved trends of the mean age of stratospheric air as derived from SF6 measurements performed by the MIPAS satellite instrument. The mean of the age of stratospheric air is a measure of the intensity of the Brewer-Dobson circulation. In this paper we discuss differences with respect to a preceding analysis by Stiller et al.
P. Šácha, A. Kuchař, C. Jacobi, and P. Pišoft
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13097–13112, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13097-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13097-2015, 2015
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In this study, we present a discovery of an internal gravity wave activity and breaking hotspot collocated with an area of anomalously low annual cycle amplitude and specific dynamics in the stratosphere over the Northeastern Pacific/Eastern Asia coastal region. The reasons why this particular IGW activity hotspot was not discovered before nor the specific dynamics of this region pointed out are discussed together with possible consequences on the middle atmospheric dynamics and transport.
C. J. Wright, S. M. Osprey, and J. C. Gille
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 8459–8477, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8459-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8459-2015, 2015
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Data from the HIRDLS instrument are used to study the numerical variability of gravity waves. Observed distributions are dominated by long-vertical-short-horizontal-wavelength waves, with a similar spectral form at all locations. We further divide our data into subspecies by wavelength, and investigate variation in these subspecies in time and space. We show that the variations associated with particular phenomena arise due to changes in specific parts of the spectrum.
N. P. Hindley, C. J. Wright, N. D. Smith, and N. J. Mitchell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 7797–7818, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7797-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7797-2015, 2015
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In nearly all GCMs, unresolved gravity wave (GW) drag may cause the southern stratospheric winter polar vortex to break down too late. Here, we characterise GWs in this region of the atmosphere using GPS radio occultation. We find GWs may propagate into the region from other latitudes. We develop a new quantitative wave identification method to learn about regional wave populations. We also find intense GW momentum fluxes over the southern Andes and Antarctic Peninsula GW hot spot.
E. E. Remsberg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 3739–3754, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3739-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-3739-2015, 2015
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Time series of the satellite-observed stratospheric tracer, CH4, are analyzed to see whether they indicate a significant trend for the hemispheric Brewer--Dobson circulation (BDC) for 1992-2005. Trends in CH4 for the lower stratosphere are generally positive and equivalent to those of the troposphere. However, the Northern Hemisphere BDC is clearly accelerated in the mid-stratosphere (20 to 7hPa). Corresponding trends for the Southern Hemisphere are smaller and less significant.
I. Petropavlovskikh, R. Evans, G. McConville, G. L. Manney, and H. E. Rieder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 1585–1598, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1585-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1585-2015, 2015
A. Réchou, S. Kirkwood, J. Arnault, and P. Dalin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 6785–6799, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6785-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6785-2014, 2014
S. Studer, K. Hocke, A. Schanz, H. Schmidt, and N. Kämpfer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 5905–5919, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5905-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5905-2014, 2014
K. Miyagawa, I. Petropavlovskikh, R. D. Evans, C. Long, J. Wild, G. L. Manney, and W. H. Daffer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3945–3968, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3945-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3945-2014, 2014
N. M. Gavrilov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 12107–12116, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12107-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12107-2013, 2013
C. Kalicinsky, J.-U. Grooß, G. Günther, J. Ungermann, J. Blank, S. Höfer, L. Hoffmann, P. Knieling, F. Olschewski, R. Spang, F. Stroh, and M. Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10859–10871, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10859-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10859-2013, 2013
S. M. Khaykin, J.-P. Pommereau, and A. Hauchecorne
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 6391–6402, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6391-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6391-2013, 2013
P. Baron, D. P. Murtagh, J. Urban, H. Sagawa, S. Ochiai, Y. Kasai, K. Kikuchi, F. Khosrawi, H. Körnich, S. Mizobuchi, K. Sagi, and M. Yasui
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 6049–6064, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6049-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6049-2013, 2013
T. Flury, D. L. Wu, and W. G. Read
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 4563–4575, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4563-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4563-2013, 2013
M. Kohma and K. Sato
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 3849–3864, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3849-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3849-2013, 2013
Cited articles
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