Articles | Volume 19, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6535-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6535-2019
Research article
 | 
17 May 2019
Research article |  | 17 May 2019

A numerical process study on the rapid transport of stratospheric air down to the surface over western North America and the Tibetan Plateau

Bojan Škerlak, Stephan Pfahl, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli

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Short summary
Upper-level fronts are often associated with the rapid transport of stratospheric air to the lower troposphere, leading to significantly enhanced ozone concentrations. This paper considers the multi-scale nature that is needed to bring stratospheric air down to the surface. The final transport step to the surface can be related to frontal zones and the associated vertical winds or to near-horizontal tracer transport followed by entrainment into a growing planetary boundary layer.
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