Articles | Volume 22, issue 22
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14957-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14957-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
23 Nov 2022
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 23 Nov 2022
| 23 Nov 2022
The evolution and dynamics of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai sulfate aerosol plume in the stratosphere
Bernard Legras
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD-IPSL), UMR CNRS 8539, ENS-PSL,
École Polytechnique, Sorbonne Université, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Paris, France
Clair Duchamp
Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD-IPSL), UMR CNRS 8539, ENS-PSL,
École Polytechnique, Sorbonne Université, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Paris, France
Pasquale Sellitto
Univ. Paris Est Créteil and Université de Paris Cité, CNRS, Laboratoire
Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA-IPSL), Institut Pierre-Simon
Laplace, Créteil, France
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Osservatorio Etneo (OE), Catania, Italy
Aurélien Podglajen
Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD-IPSL), UMR CNRS 8539, ENS-PSL,
École Polytechnique, Sorbonne Université, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Paris, France
Elisa Carboni
UK Research and Innovation, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, UK
Richard Siddans
UK Research and Innovation, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, UK
Jens-Uwe Grooß
Institute for Energy and Climate Research: Stratosphere (IEK–7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
Sergey Khaykin
Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS-IPSL), UMR
CNRS 8190, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Sorbonne Univ./UVSQ, Guyancourt, France
Felix Ploeger
Institute for Energy and Climate Research: Stratosphere (IEK–7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15523–15535, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15523-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15523-2023, 2023
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Record-breaking wildfires ravaged south-eastern Australia during the fire season 2019–2020. These fires injected a smoke plume in the stratosphere, which dispersed over the whole Southern Hemisphere and interacted with solar and terrestrial radiation. A number of detached smoke bubbles were also observed emanating from this plume and ascending quickly to over 35 km altitude. Here we study how absorption of radiation generated ascending motion of both the the hemispheric plume and the vortices.
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As a consequence of extreme heat and drought, record-breaking wildfires ravaged south-eastern Australia during the fire season in 2019–2020. Fires injected a smoke plume very high up to the stratosphere, which dispersed quite quickly to the whole Southern Hemisphere and interacted with solar radiation, reflecting and absorbing part of it – thus producing impacts on the climate system. Here we estimate this impact on radiation and we study how it depends on the properties and ageing of the plume.
Sergey M. Khaykin, Elizabeth Moyer, Martina Krämer, Benjamin Clouser, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Alexey Lykov, Armin Afchine, Francesco Cairo, Ivan Formanyuk, Valentin Mitev, Renaud Matthey, Christian Rolf, Clare E. Singer, Nicole Spelten, Vasiliy Volkov, Vladimir Yushkov, and Fred Stroh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3169–3189, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3169-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3169-2022, 2022
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11689–11722, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11689-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11689-2021, 2021
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In July and August 2017, eight StratoClim mission flights of the Geophysica reached up to 20 km in the Asian monsoon anticyclone. New particle formation (NPF) was identified in situ by abundant nucleation-mode aerosols (6–15 nm in diameter) with mixing ratios of up to 50 000 mg−1. NPF occurred most frequently at 12–16 km with fractions of non-volatile residues of down to 15 %. Abundance and productivity of observed NPF indicate its ability to promote the Asian tropopause aerosol layer.
Felix Ploeger, Mohamadou Diallo, Edward Charlesworth, Paul Konopka, Bernard Legras, Johannes C. Laube, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Gebhard Günther, Andreas Engel, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8393–8412, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8393-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8393-2021, 2021
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We investigate the global stratospheric circulation (Brewer–Dobson circulation) in the new ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis based on age of air simulations, and we compare it to results from the preceding ERA-Interim reanalysis. Our results show a slower stratospheric circulation and higher age for ERA5. The age of air trend in ERA5 over the 1989–2018 period is negative throughout the stratosphere, related to multi-annual variability and a potential contribution from changes in the reanalysis system.
Francesco Cairo, Mauro De Muro, Marcel Snels, Luca Di Liberto, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Ajil Kottayil, Andrea Scoccione, and Stefano Ghisu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7947–7961, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7947-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7947-2021, 2021
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A lidar was used in Palau from February–March 2016. Clouds were observed peaking at 3 km below the high cold-point tropopause (CPT). Their occurrence was linked with cold anomalies, while in warm cases, cirrus clouds were restricted to 5 km below the CPT. Thin subvisible cirrus (SVC) near the CPT had distinctive characteristics. They were linked to wave-induced cold anomalies. Back trajectories are mostly compatible with convective outflow, while some distinctive SVC may originate in situ.
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.
Keun-Ok Lee, Brice Barret, Eric L. Flochmoën, Pierre Tulet, Silvia Bucci, Marc von Hobe, Corinna Kloss, Bernard Legras, Maud Leriche, Bastien Sauvage, Fabrizio Ravegnani, and Alexey Ulanovsky
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3255–3274, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3255-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3255-2021, 2021
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This paper focuses on the emission sources and pathways of pollution from the boundary layer to the Asian monsoon anticyclone (AMA) during the StratoClim aircraft campaign period. Simulations with the Meso-NH cloud-chemistry model at a horizontal resolution of 15 km are performed over the Asian region to characterize the impact of monsoon deep convection on the composition of AMA and on the formation of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer during the StratoClim campaign.
Adriana Bossolasco, Fabrice Jegou, Pasquale Sellitto, Gwenaël Berthet, Corinna Kloss, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2745–2764, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2745-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2745-2021, 2021
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dryand
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Corinna Kloss, Gwenaël Berthet, Pasquale Sellitto, Felix Ploeger, Ghassan Taha, Mariam Tidiga, Maxim Eremenko, Adriana Bossolasco, Fabrice Jégou, Jean-Baptiste Renard, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 535–560, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-535-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-535-2021, 2021
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Sören Johansson, Michael Höpfner, Oliver Kirner, Ingo Wohltmann, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Norbert Glatthor, Erik Kretschmer, Jörn Ungermann, and Gerald Wetzel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14695–14715, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14695-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14695-2020, 2020
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We present high-resolution measurements of pollutant trace gases (PAN, C2H2, and HCOOH) in the Asian monsoon UTLS from the airborne limb imager GLORIA during StratoClim 2017. Enhancements are observed up to 16 km altitude, and PAN and C2H2 even up to 18 km. Two atmospheric models, CAMS and EMAC, reproduce the pollutant's large-scale structures but not finer structures. Convection is investigated using backward trajectories of the models ATLAS and TRACZILLA with advanced detection of convection.
Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Pasquale Sellitto, Francesco D'Amato, Silvia Viciani, Alessio Montori, Antonio Chiarugi, Fabrizio Ravegnani, Alexey Ulanovsky, Francesco Cairo, and Fred Stroh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12193–12210, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12193-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12193-2020, 2020
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The paper presents and evaluates a transport analysis method to study the convective injection of air in the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere of the Asian monsoon anticyclone region. The approach is thereby used to analyse the trace gas data collected during the StratoClim aircraft campaign. The results showed that fresh convective air can be injected fast at a high level of the atmosphere (above 17 km), with potential impacts on the stratospheric chemistry of the Northern Hemisphere.
Bernard Legras and Silvia Bucci
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11045–11064, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11045-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11045-2020, 2020
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The Asian monsoon is the most active region bringing surface compounds by convection to the stratosphere during summer. We study the transport pathways and the trapping within the upper-layer anticyclonic circulation. Above 15 km, the confinement can be represented by a uniform ascent over continental Asia of about 200 m per day and a uniform loss to other regions with a characteristic time of 2 weeks. We rule out the presence of a
chimneyproposed in previous studies over the Tibetan Plateau.
Aurélien Podglajen, Albert Hertzog, Riwal Plougonven, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 9331–9350, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9331-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9331-2020, 2020
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Thanks to the increase in resolution, numerical weather prediction models resolve a growing fraction of the gravity wave (GW) spectrum. Here, we assess the representation of Lagrangian GW fluctuations by comparing trajectories in the models to long-duration balloon observations. Most characteristics of the observed GW spectrum, such as near-inertial oscillations, are qualitatively present. However, the variability remains underestimated, emphasizing the continuous need for GW parameterizations.
Jonathon S. Wright, Xiaoyi Sun, Paul Konopka, Kirstin Krüger, Bernard Legras, Andrea M. Molod, Susann Tegtmeier, Guang J. Zhang, and Xi Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8989–9030, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8989-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8989-2020, 2020
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High clouds are influential in tropical climate. Although reanalysis cloud fields are essentially model products, they are indirectly constrained by observations and offer global coverage with direct links to advanced water and energy cycle metrics, giving them many useful applications. We describe how high cloud fields are generated in reanalyses, assess their realism and reliability in the tropics, and evaluate how differences in these fields affect other aspects of the reanalysis state.
Susann Tegtmeier, James Anstey, Sean Davis, Rossana Dragani, Yayoi Harada, Ioana Ivanciu, Robin Pilch Kedzierski, Kirstin Krüger, Bernard Legras, Craig Long, James S. Wang, Krzysztof Wargan, and Jonathon S. Wright
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 753–770, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-753-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-753-2020, 2020
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The tropical tropopause layer is an important atmospheric region right in between the troposphere and the stratosphere. We evaluate the representation of this layer in reanalyses data sets, which create a complete picture of the state of Earth's atmosphere using atmospheric modeling and available observations. The recent reanalyses show realistic temperatures in the tropical tropopause layer. However, where the temperature is lowest, the so-called cold point, the reanalyses are too cold.
Corinna Kloss, Gwenaël Berthet, Pasquale Sellitto, Felix Ploeger, Silvia Bucci, Sergey Khaykin, Fabrice Jégou, Ghassan Taha, Larry W. Thomason, Brice Barret, Eric Le Flochmoen, Marc von Hobe, Adriana Bossolasco, Nelson Bègue, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 13547–13567, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13547-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13547-2019, 2019
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With satellite measurements and transport models, we show that a plume resulting from strong Canadian fires in July/August 2017 was not only distributed throughout the northern/higher latitudes, but also reached the faraway tropics, aided by the circulation of Asian monsoon anticyclone. The regional climate impact in the wider Asian monsoon area in September exceeds the impact of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer by a factor of ~ 3 and compares to that of an advected moderate volcanic eruption.
Henda Guermazi, Pasquale Sellitto, Juan Cuesta, Maxim Eremenko, Mathieu Lachatre, Sylvain Mailler, Elisa Carboni, Giuseppe Salerno, Tommaso Caltabiano, Laurent Menut, Mohamed Moncef Serbaji, Farhat Rekhiss, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2019-341, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2019-341, 2019
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Felix Ploeger, Bernard Legras, Edward Charlesworth, Xiaolu Yan, Mohamadou Diallo, Paul Konopka, Thomas Birner, Mengchu Tao, Andreas Engel, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6085–6105, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6085-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6085-2019, 2019
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We analyse the change in the circulation of the middle atmosphere based on current generation meteorological reanalysis data sets. We find that long-term changes from 1989 to 2015 are similar for the chosen reanalyses, mainly resembling the forced response in climate model simulations to climate change. For shorter periods circulation changes are less robust, and the representation of decadal variability appears to be a major uncertainty for modelling the circulation of the middle atmosphere.
Mohamadou Diallo, Paul Konopka, Michelle L. Santee, Rolf Müller, Mengchu Tao, Kaley A. Walker, Bernard Legras, Martin Riese, Manfred Ern, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 425–446, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-425-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-425-2019, 2019
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This paper assesses the structural changes in the shallow and transition branches of the BDC induced by El Nino using the Lagrangian model simulations driven by ERAi and JRA-55 combined with MLS observations. We found a clear evidence of a weakening of the transition branch due to an upward shift in the dissipation height of the planetary and gravity waves and a strengthening of the shallow branch due to enhanced GW breaking in the tropics–subtropics and PW breaking at high latitudes.
Mohamadou Diallo, Martin Riese, Thomas Birner, Paul Konopka, Rolf Müller, Michaela I. Hegglin, Michelle L. Santee, Mark Baldwin, Bernard Legras, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13055–13073, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13055-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13055-2018, 2018
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The unprecedented timing of an El Niño event aligned with the disrupted QBO in 2015–2016 caused a perturbation to the stratospheric circulation, affecting trace gases. This paper resolves the puzzling response of the lower stratospheric water vapor by showing that the QBO disruption reversed the lower stratosphere moistening triggered by the alignment of the El Niño event with a westerly QBO in early boreal winter.
Mohamadou Diallo, Bernard Legras, Eric Ray, Andreas Engel, and Juan A. Añel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3861–3878, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3861-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3861-2017, 2017
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We construct a new monthly zonal mean CO2 distribution from the upper troposphere to the stratosphere over the 2000–2010 period. The main features of the CO2 distribution are consistent with expected variability due to the transport of long-lived trace gases by the Brewer–Dobson circulation. The method used to construct this CO2 product is unique and should be useful for model and satellite validation in the upper troposphere and stratosphere.
Pasquale Sellitto, Alcide di Sarra, Stefano Corradini, Marie Boichu, Hervé Herbin, Philippe Dubuisson, Geneviève Sèze, Daniela Meloni, Francesco Monteleone, Luca Merucci, Justin Rusalem, Giuseppe Salerno, Pierre Briole, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 6841–6861, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-6841-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-6841-2016, 2016
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We combine plume dispersion and radiative transfer modelling, and satellite and surface remote sensing observations to study the regional influence of a relatively weak volcanic eruption from Mount Etna (25–27 October 2013) on the optical/micro-physical properties of Mediterranean aerosols. Our results indicate that even relatively weak volcanic eruptions may produce an observable effect on the aerosol properties at the regional scale, with a significant impact on the regional radiative balance.
Aurélien Podglajen, Riwal Plougonven, Albert Hertzog, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3881–3902, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3881-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3881-2016, 2016
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The Weather Research and Forecast model is used to simulate a large-scale tropical tropopause layer (TTL) cirrus. Validated with satellite observations, the simulation shows that several clouds successively form due to a large-scale uplift initiated by the intrusion of air from the midlatitudes. The simulated cloud field is found as sensitive to the initial condition as it is to the choice of the microphysics parametrisation. The cloud impacts on the radiative and water budgets are estimated.
Ann-Sophie Tissier and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3383–3398, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3383-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3383-2016, 2016
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Transit properties across the TTL are studied using forward and backward Lagrangian trajectories between cloud tops and the reference surface 380 K. The tropical domain is subdivided into 11 subregions according to the distribution of land and convection. Due to the good agreement between forward and backward statistics, we estimate the contribution of each region to the upward mass flux across the 380 K surface, the vertical distribution of convective sources and of transit times over 2005–2008.
P. Sellitto and B. Legras
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 115–132, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-115-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-115-2016, 2016
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This study investigates the sensitivity of TIR satellite nadir observations to the chemical composition and the size distribution of idealized UTLS sulfate aerosol layers. The dependence of the sulfate spectral signature, between 700 and 1200 cm−1, on the sulfuric acid mixing ratio, effective number concentration and radius, as well as the role of interfering parameters, is analysed. The information content of broadband and high-spectral-resolution observations is finally discussed.
T. Dinh, A. Podglajen, A. Hertzog, B. Legras, and R. Plougonven
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 35–46, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-35-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-35-2016, 2016
M. Bolot, B. Legras, and E. J. Moyer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 7903–7935, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-7903-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-7903-2013, 2013
M. Diallo, B. Legras, and A. Chédin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 12133–12154, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12133-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12133-2012, 2012
M. Reverdy, V. Noel, H. Chepfer, and B. Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 12081–12101, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12081-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12081-2012, 2012
Athina Argyrouli, Diego Loyola, Fabian Romahn, Ronny Lutz, Víctor Molina García, Pascal Hedelt, Klaus-Peter Heue, and Richard Siddans
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-28, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-28, 2024
Preprint under review for AMT
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This manuscript describes a new treatment of the spatial mis-registration of cloud properties for Sentinel-5 Precursor, when the footprints of different spectral bands are not perfectly aligned. The methodology exploits synergies between spectrometers and imagers, like TROPOMI and VIIRS. The largest improvements have been identified for heterogeneous scenes at cloud edges. This approach is generic and can also be applied to future Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5 instruments.
Richard J. Pope, Alexandru Rap, Matilda A. Pimlott, Brice Barret, Eric Le Flochmoen, Brian J. Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Lucy J. Ventress, Anne Boynard, Christian Retscher, Wuhu Feng, Richard Rigby, Sandip S. Dhomse, Catherine Wespes, and Martyn P. Chipperfield
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3613–3626, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3613-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3613-2024, 2024
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Tropospheric ozone is an important short-lived climate forcer which influences the incoming solar short-wave radiation and the outgoing long-wave radiation in the atmosphere (8–15 km) where the balance between the two yields a net positive (i.e. warming) effect at the surface. Overall, we find that the tropospheric ozone radiative effect ranges between 1.21 and 1.26 W m−2 with a negligible trend (2008–2017), suggesting that tropospheric ozone influences on climate have remained stable with time.
Xiaolu Yan, Paul Konopka, Felix Ploeger, and Aurélien Podglajen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-782, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-782, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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Our study finds that the air mass fractions (AMFs) from the Asian boundary layer (ABL) to the polar regions are about 1.5 times larger than those from the same latitude band in the Southern Hemisphere. The transport of AMFs from the ABL to the polar vortex primarily occurs above 20 km and over timescales exceeding 2 years. Our analysis reveals a strong correlation between the polar pollutants and the AMFs from the ABL. About 20 % of SF6 in the polar stratosphere originates from the ABL.
Yiran Zhang-Liu, Rolf Müller, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Sabine Robrecht, Bärbel Vogel, Abdul Mannan Zafar, and Ralph Lehmann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-671, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-671, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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HCl null cycles in Antarctica are important for maintaining high values of ozone destroying chlorine in Antarctic spring. These HCl null cycles are not affected by (1) using the most recent recommendations of chemical kinetics (compared to older recommendations) (2) taking into account dehydration in the Antarctic winter vortex and (3) considering the observed (but unexplained) depletion of HCl in mid-winter in the Antartic vortex. throughout Antarctic winter.
Katharina Turhal, Felix Plöger, Jan Clemens, Thomas Birner, Franziska Weyland, Paul Konopka, and Peter Hoor
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-471, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-471, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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The tropopause separates the troposphere, the lowest atmospheric layer where weather occurs, from the stratosphere. We computed the PV-gradient (PVG) tropopause, which is based on transport barriers between both layers. In 1980–2017, the PVG tropopause shifted poleward at lower altitudes and equatorward above. These shifts may signify height-dependent changes in atmospheric transport, influencing the distribution of pollutants and, e.g., greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.
Felix Ploeger, Thomas Birner, Edward Charlesworth, Paul Konopka, and Rolf Müller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2033–2043, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2033-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2033-2024, 2024
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We present a novel mechanism of how regional anomalies in water vapour concentrations in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere impact regional atmospheric circulation systems. These impacts include a displaced upper-level Asian monsoon circulation and strengthened prevailing westerlies in the Pacific region. Current climate models have biases in simulating these regional water vapour anomalies and circulation impacts, but the biases can be avoided by improving the model transport.
Igor Veselovskii, Qiaoyun Hu, Philippe Goloub, Thierry Podvin, William Boissiere, Mikhail Korenskiy, Nikita Kasianik, Sergey Khaykyn, and Robin Miri
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1023–1036, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1023-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1023-2024, 2024
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Measurements of transported smoke layers were performed with a lidar in Lille and a five-channel fluorescence lidar in Moscow. Results show the peak of fluorescence in the boundary layer is at 438 nm, while in the smoke layer it shifts to longer wavelengths. The fluorescence depolarization is 45 % to 55 %. The depolarization ratio of the water vapor channel is low (2 ± 0.5 %) in the absence of fluorescence and can be used to evaluate the contribution of fluorescence to water vapor signal.
Jan Clemens, Bärbel Vogel, Lars Hoffmann, Sabine Griessbach, Nicole Thomas, Suvarna Fadnavis, Rolf Müller, Thomas Peter, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 763–787, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-763-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-763-2024, 2024
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The source regions of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer (ATAL) are debated. We use balloon-borne measurements of the layer above Nainital (India) in August 2016 and atmospheric transport models to find ATAL source regions. Most air originated from the Tibetan plateau. However, the measured ATAL was stronger when more air originated from the Indo-Gangetic Plain and weaker when more air originated from the Pacific. Hence, the results indicate important anthropogenic contributions to the ATAL.
Bärbel Vogel, C. Michael Volk, Johannes Wintel, Valentin Lauther, Jan Clemens, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Gebhard Günther, Lars Hoffmann, Johannes C. Laube, Rolf Müller, Felix Ploeger, and Fred Stroh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 317–343, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-317-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-317-2024, 2024
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Over the Indian subcontinent, polluted air is rapidly uplifted to higher altitudes during the Asian monsoon season. We present an assessment of vertical transport in this region using different wind data provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), as well as high-resolution aircraft measurements. In general, our findings confirm that the newest ECMWF reanalysis product, ERA5, yields a better representation of transport compared to the predecessor, ERA-Interim.
Richard J. Pope, Fiona M. O'Connor, Mohit Dalvi, Brian J. Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Brice Barret, Eric Le Flochmoen, Anne Boynard, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Wuhu Feng, Matilda A. Pimlott, Sandip S. Dhomse, Christian Retscher, Catherine Wespes, and Richard Rigby
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3109, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3109, 2024
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Ozone is a potent air pollutant in the lower troposphere with adverse impacts on human health. Satellite records of tropospheric ozone currently show large-scale inconsistencies in their long-term trends. Our detailed study of the potential factors (e.g. satellite errors, where the satellite can observe ozone) potentially driving these inconsistencies found that in North America, Europe and East Asia, the underlying trends are typically small with large uncertainties.
Pasquale Sellitto, Redha Belhadji, Juan Cuesta, Aurélien Podglajen, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15523–15535, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15523-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15523-2023, 2023
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Record-breaking wildfires ravaged south-eastern Australia during the fire season 2019–2020. These fires injected a smoke plume in the stratosphere, which dispersed over the whole Southern Hemisphere and interacted with solar and terrestrial radiation. A number of detached smoke bubbles were also observed emanating from this plume and ascending quickly to over 35 km altitude. Here we study how absorption of radiation generated ascending motion of both the the hemispheric plume and the vortices.
Richard J. Pope, Brian J. Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Wuhu Feng, Matilda A. Pimlott, Sandip S. Dhomse, Christian Retscher, and Richard Rigby
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14933–14947, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14933-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14933-2023, 2023
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Ozone is a potent air pollutant, and we present the first study to investigate long-term changes in lower tropospheric column ozone (LTCO3) from space. We have constructed a merged LTCO3 dataset from GOME-1, SCIAMACHY and OMI between 1996 and 2017. Comparing LTCO3 between the 1996–2000 and 2013–2017 5-year averages, we find significant positive increases in the tropics/sub-tropics, while in the northern mid-latitudes, we find small-scale differences.
Chris Wilson, Brian J. Kerridge, Richard Siddans, David P. Moore, Lucy J. Ventress, Emily Dowd, Wuhu Feng, Martyn P. Chipperfield, and John J. Remedios
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1652, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1652, 2023
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The leaks from the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022 released a large amount of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. We provide observational data from a satellite instrument, IASI, that shows a large CH4 plume over the North Sea off the coast of Scandinavia. We use this, together with atmospheric models, to quantify the CH4 leaked into the atmosphere from the pipelines. We find that 215–390 Gg CH4 was emitted, making this the largest individual fossil fuel-related CH4 leak on record.
Thomas Lesigne, Francois Ravetta, Aurélien Podglajen, Vincent Mariage, and Jacques Pelon
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2763, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2763, 2023
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Upper tropical clouds have a strong impact on Earth climate but are challenging to observe. We report the first long-duration observations of tropical clouds from lidars flying onboard stratospheric balloons. Comparisons with space-borne observations reveal the unique sensitivity of balloon-borne lidar to optically thin clouds. The thinnest ones have a significant coverage and lay in the uppermost troposphere, they are linked with the dehydration of air masses on their way to the stratosphere.
Elisa Carboni, Gareth E. Thomas, Richard Siddans, and Brian Kerridge
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-232, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-232, 2023
Preprint under review for AMT
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We analyzed different satellite datasets of cloud properties with a new approach to quantify and interpret their interannual variability based on singular vector decomposition (SVD). The spatial pattern and its temporal evolution are strikingly similar for all the satellite datasets and follow the El Nino Southern Oscillation. The SVD approach reported here has potential for application to satellite data sets and to evaluate consistency between models and observations.
Bart Dils, Minqiang Zhou, Claude Camy-Peyret, Martine De Mazière, Yannick Kangah, Bavo Langerock, Pascal Prunet, Carmine Serio, Richard Siddans, and Brian Kerridge
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-237, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-237, 2023
Preprint under review for AMT
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Here we looked at two very distinct methane products from the IASI instrument onboard the MetOp-A satellite. One (referred to as LMD NLISv8.3) uses a machine learning approach while the other (RALv2.0) uses a more conventional optimal estimation approach. We used a variety of model and independent reference measurement data to assess both product’s overall quality, their differences, and specific aspects of each product that would benefit from further analysis by the product development teams.
Francesco Cairo, Martina Krämer, Armin Afchine, Guido Di Donfrancesco, Luca Di Liberto, Sergey Khaykin, Lorenza Lucaferri, Valentin Mitev, Max Port, Christian Rolf, Marcel Snels, Nicole Spelten, Ralf Weigel, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4899–4925, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4899-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4899-2023, 2023
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Cirrus clouds have been observed over the Himalayan region between 10 km and the tropopause at 17–18 km. Data from backscattersonde, hygrometers, and particle cloud spectrometers have been compared to assess their consistency. Empirical relationships between optical parameters accessible with remote sensing lidars and cloud microphysical parameters (such as ice water content, particle number and surface area density, and particle aspherical fraction) have been established.
Richard J. Pope, Brian J. Kerridge, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Richard Siddans, Barry G. Latter, Lucy J. Ventress, Matilda A. Pimlott, Wuhu Feng, Edward Comyn-Platt, Garry D. Hayman, Stephen R. Arnold, and Ailish M. Graham
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13235–13253, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13235-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13235-2023, 2023
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In the summer of 2018, Europe experienced several persistent large-scale ozone (O3) pollution episodes. Satellite tropospheric O3 and surface O3 data recorded substantial enhancements in 2018 relative to other years. Targeted model simulations showed that meteorological processes and emissions controlled the elevated surface O3, while mid-tropospheric O3 enhancements were dominated by stratospheric O3 intrusion and advection of North Atlantic O3-rich air masses into Europe.
Paul Konopka, Christian Rolf, Marc von Hobe, Sergey M. Khaykin, Benjamin Clouser, Elisabeth Moyer, Fabrizio Ravegnani, Francesco D'Amato, Silvia Viciani, Nicole Spelten, Armin Afchine, Martina Krämer, Fred Stroh, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12935–12947, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12935-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12935-2023, 2023
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We studied water vapor in a critical region of the atmosphere, the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone, using rare in situ observations. Our study shows that extremely high water vapor values observed in the stratosphere within the Asian monsoon anticyclone still undergo significant freeze-drying and that water vapor concentrations set by the Lagrangian dry point are a better proxy for the stratospheric water vapor budget than rare observations of enhanced water mixing ratios.
Martin Ebert, Ralf Weigel, Stephan Weinbruch, Lisa Schneider, Konrad Kandler, Stefan Lauterbach, Franziska Köllner, Felix Plöger, Gebhard Günther, Bärbel Vogel, and Stephan Borrmann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2245, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2245, 2023
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Particles were collected during the flight campaign StratoClim2017 within the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL). Refractory particles from 7 different flights were charaterized by electron microscopy (SEM/TEM). Most abundant refractory particles are silicates and nonvolatile organics. Most important sources are combustion processes at ground and the agitation of soil material. During one flight also small cinnabar particles (HgS) were detected, which will origiante from coal combustion.
Frederik Harzer, Hella Garny, Felix Ploeger, Harald Bönisch, Peter Hoor, and Thomas Birner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10661–10675, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10661-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10661-2023, 2023
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We study the statistical relation between year-by-year fluctuations in winter-mean ozone and the strength of the stratospheric polar vortex. In the latitude–pressure plane, regression analysis shows that anomalously weak polar vortex years are associated with three pronounced local ozone maxima over the polar cap relative to the winter climatology. These response maxima primarily reflect the non-trivial combination of different ozone transport processes with varying relative contributions.
Nelson Bègue, Alexandre Baron, Gisèle Krysztofiak, Gwenaël Berthet, Hassan Bencherif, Corinna Kloss, Fabrice Jégou, Sergey Khaykin, Marion Ranaivombola, Tristan Millet, Thierry Portafaix, Valentin Duflot, Philippe Keckhut, Hélène Vérèmes, Guillaume Payen, Masha Kumar Sha, Pierre-François Coheur, Cathy Clerbaux, Michaël Sicard, Tetsu Sakai, Richard Querel, Ben Liley, Dan Smale, Isamu Morino, Osamu Ochino, Tomohiro Nagai, Penny Smale, and John Robinson
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1946, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1946, 2023
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This study treats on the transport of the biomass burning (BB) products, induced during the 2019–20 extreme extreme Australian bushfire events, over the Southwest Indian Ocean. The BB activity in eastern Africa, weak during the wet season, contributed to modulate the atmospheric composition over this region. The simultaneous presence of African and Australian BB products has been recorded at Reunion. This reveals the complex variability of the atmospheric compostion over the SWIO basin.
Cristina Peña-Ortiz, Nurial Pilar Plaza, David Gallego, and Felix Plöger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1432, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1432, 2023
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Although water vapour (H2O) in the lower stratosphere is only a few molecules among 1 million air molecules, atmospheric radiative forcing and surface temperature are particularly sensible to small changes in its concentration. Monsoon regions play a key role in H2O transport and in its concentration in the lower stratosphere. We show how the QBO has a major impact on H2O over the Asian monsoon during August through changes in temperature caused by the QBO modulation of convection.
Milena Corcos, Albert Hertzog, Riwal Plougonven, and Aurélien Podglajen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6923–6939, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6923-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6923-2023, 2023
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The role of gravity waves on tropical cirrus clouds and air-parcel dehydration was studied using the combination of Lagrangian observations of temperature fluctuations from superpressure balloons and a 1.5D model. The inclusion of the gravity waves to a reference simulation of a slow ascent around the cold-point tropopause drastically increases ice-crystal density, cloud fraction, and air-parcel dehydration, and it produces a crystal size distribution that agrees better with observations.
Maria Rosa Russo, Brian John Kerridge, Nathan Luke Abraham, James Keeble, Barry Graham Latter, Richard Siddans, James Weber, Paul Thomas Griffiths, John Adrian Pyle, and Alexander Thomas Archibald
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6169–6196, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6169-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6169-2023, 2023
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Tropospheric ozone is an important component of the Earth system as it can affect both climate and air quality. In this work we use observed tropospheric ozone derived from satellite observations and compare it to tropospheric ozone from model simulations. Our aim is to investigate recent changes (2005–2018) in tropospheric ozone in the North Atlantic region and to understand what factors are driving such changes.
Tim Trent, Richard Siddans, Brian Kerridge, Marc Schröder, Noëlle A. Scott, and John Remedios
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1503–1526, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1503-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1503-2023, 2023
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Modern weather satellites provide essential information on our lower atmosphere's moisture content and temperature structure. This measurement record will span over 40 years, making it a valuable resource for climate studies. This study characterizes atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles from a European Space Agency climate project. Using weather balloon measurements, we demonstrated the performance of this dataset was within the tolerances required for future climate studies.
Mathieu Ratynski, Sergey Khaykin, Alain Hauchecorne, Robin Wing, Jean-Pierre Cammas, Yann Hello, and Philippe Keckhut
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 997–1016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-997-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-997-2023, 2023
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Aeolus is the first spaceborne wind lidar providing global wind measurements since 2018. This study offers a comprehensive analysis of Aeolus instrument performance, using ground-based wind lidars and meteorological radiosondes, at tropical and mid-latitudes sites. The analysis allows assessing the long-term evolution of the satellite's performance for more than 3 years. The results will help further elaborate the understanding of the error sources and the behavior of the Doppler wind lidar.
Fayçal Lamraoui, Martina Krämer, Armin Afchine, Adam B. Sokol, Sergey Khaykin, Apoorva Pandey, and Zhiming Kuang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2393–2419, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2393-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2393-2023, 2023
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Cirrus in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) can play a key role in vertical transport. We investigate the role of different cloud regimes and the associated ice habits in regulating the properties of the TTL. We use high-resolution numerical experiments at the scales of large-eddy simulations (LESs) and aircraft measurements. We found that LES-scale parameterizations that predict ice shape are crucial for an accurate representation of TTL cirrus and thus the associated (de)hydration process.
Richard Wilson, Clara Pitois, Aurélien Podglajen, Albert Hertzog, Milena Corcos, and Riwal Plougonven
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 311–330, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-311-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-311-2023, 2023
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Strateole-2 is an French–US initiative designed to study atmospheric events in the tropical upper troposphere–lower stratosphere. In this work, data from several superpressure balloons, capable of staying aloft at an altitude of 18–20 km for over 3 months, were used. The present article describes methods to detect the occurrence of atmospheric turbulence – one efficient process impacting the properties of the atmosphere composition via stirring and mixing.
Reimar Bauer, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Jörn Ungermann, May Bär, Markus Geldenhuys, and Lars Hoffmann
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 8983–8997, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-8983-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-8983-2022, 2022
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The Mission Support System (MSS) is an open source software package that has been used for planning flight tracks of scientific aircraft in multiple measurement campaigns during the last decade. Here, we describe the MSS software and its use during the SouthTRAC measurement campaign in 2019. As an example for how the MSS software is used in conjunction with many datasets, we describe the planning of a single flight probing orographic gravity waves propagating up into the lower mesosphere.
Markus Jesswein, Rafael P. Fernandez, Lucas Berná, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Ryan Hossaini, Eric C. Apel, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Elliot L. Atlas, Donald R. Blake, Stephen Montzka, Timo Keber, Tanja Schuck, Thomas Wagenhäuser, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15049–15070, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15049-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15049-2022, 2022
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This study presents the global and seasonal distribution of the two major brominated short-lived substances CH2Br2 and CHBr3 in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere based on observations from several aircraft campaigns. They show similar seasonality for both hemispheres, except in the respective hemispheric autumn lower stratosphere. A comparison with the TOMCAT and CAM-Chem models shows good agreement in the annual mean but larger differences in the seasonal consideration.
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.
Miriam Latsch, Andreas Richter, Henk Eskes, Maarten Sneep, Ping Wang, Pepijn Veefkind, Ronny Lutz, Diego Loyola, Athina Argyrouli, Pieter Valks, Thomas Wagner, Holger Sihler, Michel van Roozendael, Nicolas Theys, Huan Yu, Richard Siddans, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6257–6283, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6257-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6257-2022, 2022
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The article investigates different S5P TROPOMI cloud retrieval algorithms for tropospheric trace gas retrievals. The cloud products show differences primarily over snow and ice and for scenes under sun glint. Some issues regarding across-track dependence are found for the cloud fractions as well as for the cloud heights.
Mathieu Lachatre, Sylvain Mailler, Laurent Menut, Arineh Cholakian, Pasquale Sellitto, Guillaume Siour, Henda Guermazi, Giuseppe Salerno, and Salvatore Giammanco
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13861–13879, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13861-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13861-2022, 2022
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In this study, we have evaluated the predominance of various pathways of volcanic SO2 conversion to sulfates in the upper troposphere. We show that the main conversion pathway was gaseous oxidation by OH, although the liquid pathways were expected to be predominant. These results are interesting with respect to a better understanding of sulfate formation in the middle and upper troposphere and are an important component to help evaluate particulate matter radiative forcing.
Paul Konopka, Mengchu Tao, Marc von Hobe, Lars Hoffmann, Corinna Kloss, Fabrizio Ravegnani, C. Michael Volk, Valentin Lauther, Andreas Zahn, Peter Hoor, and Felix Ploeger
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 7471–7487, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7471-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7471-2022, 2022
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Pure trajectory-based transport models driven by meteorology derived from reanalysis products (ERA5) take into account only the resolved, advective part of transport. That means neither mixing processes nor unresolved subgrid-scale advective processes like convection are included. The Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS) includes these processes. We show that isentropic mixing dominates unresolved transport. The second most important transport process is unresolved convection.
Clare E. Singer, Benjamin W. Clouser, Sergey M. Khaykin, Martina Krämer, Francesco Cairo, Thomas Peter, Alexey Lykov, Christian Rolf, Nicole Spelten, Armin Afchine, Simone Brunamonti, and Elisabeth J. Moyer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4767–4783, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4767-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4767-2022, 2022
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In situ measurements of water vapor in the upper troposphere are necessary to study cloud formation and hydration of the stratosphere but challenging due to cold–dry conditions. We compare measurements from three water vapor instruments from the StratoClim campaign in 2017. In clear sky (clouds), point-by-point differences were <1.5±8 % (<1±8 %). This excellent agreement allows detection of fine-scale structures required to understand the impact of convection on stratospheric water vapor.
Matilda A. Pimlott, Richard J. Pope, Brian J. Kerridge, Barry G. Latter, Diane S. Knappett, Dwayne E. Heard, Lucy J. Ventress, Richard Siddans, Wuhu Feng, and Martyn P. Chipperfield
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10467–10488, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10467-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10467-2022, 2022
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We present a new method to derive global information of the hydroxyl radical (OH), an important atmospheric oxidant. OH controls the lifetime of trace gases important to air quality and climate. We use satellite observations of ozone, carbon monoxide, methane and water vapour in a simple expression to derive OH around 3–4 km altitude. The derived OH compares well to model and aircraft OH data. We then apply the method to 10 years of satellite data to study the inter-annual variability of OH.
Liubov Poshyvailo-Strube, Rolf Müller, Stephan Fueglistaler, Michaela I. Hegglin, Johannes C. Laube, C. Michael Volk, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9895–9914, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9895-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9895-2022, 2022
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Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC) controls the composition of the stratosphere, which in turn affects radiation and climate. As the BDC cannot be measured directly, it is necessary to infer its strength and trends indirectly. In this study, we test in the
model worlddifferent methods for estimating the mean age of air trends based on a combination of stratospheric water vapour and methane data. We also provide simple practical advice of a more reliable estimation of the mean age of air trends.
Pasquale Sellitto, Redha Belhadji, Corinna Kloss, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9299–9311, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9299-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9299-2022, 2022
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As a consequence of extreme heat and drought, record-breaking wildfires ravaged south-eastern Australia during the fire season in 2019–2020. Fires injected a smoke plume very high up to the stratosphere, which dispersed quite quickly to the whole Southern Hemisphere and interacted with solar radiation, reflecting and absorbing part of it – thus producing impacts on the climate system. Here we estimate this impact on radiation and we study how it depends on the properties and ageing of the plume.
Suvarna Fadnavis, Prashant Chavan, Akash Joshi, Sunil M. Sonbawne, Asutosh Acharya, Panuganti C. S. Devara, Alexandru Rap, Felix Ploeger, and Rolf Müller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7179–7191, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7179-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7179-2022, 2022
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We show that large amounts of anthropogenic aerosols are transported from South Asia to the northern Indian Ocean. These aerosols are then lifted into the UTLS by the ascending branch of the Hadley circulation. They are further transported to the Southern Hemisphere and downward via westerly ducts over the tropical Atlantic and Pacific. These aerosols increase tropospheric heating, resulting in an increase in water vapor, which is then transported to the UTLS.
Felix Ploeger and Hella Garny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 5559–5576, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5559-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5559-2022, 2022
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We investigate hemispheric asymmetries in stratospheric circulation changes in the last 2 decades in model simulations and atmospheric observations. We find that observed trace gas changes can be explained by a structural circulation change related to a deepening circulation in the Northern Hemisphere relative to the Southern Hemisphere. As this asymmetric signal is small compared to internal variability observed circulation trends over the recent past are not in contradiction to climate models.
Jan Clemens, Felix Ploeger, Paul Konopka, Raphael Portmann, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3841–3860, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3841-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3841-2022, 2022
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Highly polluted air flows from the surface to higher levels of the atmosphere during the Asian summer monsoon. At high levels, the air is trapped within eddies. Here, we study how air masses can leave the eddy within its cutoff, how they distribute, and how their chemical composition changes. We found evidence for transport from the eddy to higher latitudes over the North Pacific and even Alaska. During transport, trace gas concentrations within cutoffs changed gradually, showing steady mixing.
Helmut Ziereis, Peter Hoor, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Andreas Zahn, Greta Stratmann, Paul Stock, Michael Lichtenstern, Jens Krause, Vera Bense, Armin Afchine, Christian Rolf, Wolfgang Woiwode, Marleen Braun, Jörn Ungermann, Andreas Marsing, Christiane Voigt, Andreas Engel, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, and Hermann Oelhaf
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3631–3654, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3631-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3631-2022, 2022
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Airborne observations were conducted in the lowermost Arctic stratosphere during the winter of 2015/2016. The observed distribution of reactive nitrogen shows clear indications of nitrification in mid-winter and denitrification in late winter. This was caused by the formation of polar stratospheric cloud particles, which were observed during several flights. The sedimentation and evaporation of these particles and the descent of air masses cause a redistribution of reactive nitrogen.
Sergey M. Khaykin, Elizabeth Moyer, Martina Krämer, Benjamin Clouser, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Alexey Lykov, Armin Afchine, Francesco Cairo, Ivan Formanyuk, Valentin Mitev, Renaud Matthey, Christian Rolf, Clare E. Singer, Nicole Spelten, Vasiliy Volkov, Vladimir Yushkov, and Fred Stroh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3169–3189, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3169-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3169-2022, 2022
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The Asian monsoon anticyclone is the key contributor to the global annual maximum in lower stratospheric water vapour. We investigate the impact of deep convection on the lower stratospheric water using a unique set of observations aboard the high-altitude M55-Geophysica aircraft deployed in Nepal in summer 2017 within the EU StratoClim project. We find that convective plumes of wet air can persist within the Asian anticyclone for weeks, thereby enhancing the occurrence of high-level clouds.
Dina Khordakova, Christian Rolf, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Rolf Müller, Paul Konopka, Andreas Wieser, Martina Krämer, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 1059–1079, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1059-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1059-2022, 2022
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Extreme storms transport humidity from the troposphere to the stratosphere. Here it has a strong impact on the climate. With ongoing global warming, we expect more storms and, hence, an enhancement of this effect. A case study was performed in order to measure the impact of the direct injection of water vapor into the lower stratosphere. The measurements displayed a significant transport of water vapor into the lower stratosphere, and this was supported by satellite and reanalysis data.
Abhinna K. Behera, Emmanuel D. Rivière, Sergey M. Khaykin, Virginie Marécal, Mélanie Ghysels, Jérémie Burgalat, and Gerhard Held
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 881–901, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-881-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-881-2022, 2022
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Deep convection overshooting the stratosphere's contribution to the global stratospheric water budget is still being quantified. We ran three different cloud-resolving simulations of an observed case of overshoots in Bauru during the TRO-Pico balloon campaign in the context of upscaling the impact of overshoots at a large scale. These simulations, which have been validated with balloon-borne and S-band radar measurements, shed light on the local-scale variability and composition of overshoots.
Manuel Baumgartner, Christian Rolf, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Julia Schneider, Tobias Schorr, Ottmar Möhler, Peter Spichtinger, and Martina Krämer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 65–91, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-65-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-65-2022, 2022
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An important mechanism for the appearance of ice particles in the upper troposphere at low temperatures is homogeneous nucleation. This process is commonly described by the
Koop line, predicting the humidity at freezing. However, laboratory measurements suggest that the freezing humidities are above the Koop line, motivating the present study to investigate the influence of different physical parameterizations on the homogeneous freezing with the help of a detailed numerical model.
Meike K. Rotermund, Vera Bense, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Andreas Engel, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Peter Hoor, Tilman Hüneke, Timo Keber, Flora Kluge, Benjamin Schreiner, Tanja Schuck, Bärbel Vogel, Andreas Zahn, and Klaus Pfeilsticker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15375–15407, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15375-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15375-2021, 2021
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Airborne total bromine (Brtot) and tracer measurements suggest Brtot-rich air masses persistently protruded into the lower stratosphere (LS), creating a high Brtot region over the North Atlantic in fall 2017. The main source is via isentropic transport by the Asian monsoon and to a lesser extent transport across the extratropical tropopause as quantified by a Lagrange model. The transport of Brtot via Central American hurricanes is also observed. Lastly, the impact of Brtot on LS O3 is assessed.
Christoph Mahnke, Ralf Weigel, Francesco Cairo, Jean-Paul Vernier, Armin Afchine, Martina Krämer, Valentin Mitev, Renaud Matthey, Silvia Viciani, Francesco D'Amato, Felix Ploeger, Terry Deshler, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15259–15282, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15259-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15259-2021, 2021
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In 2017, in situ aerosol measurements were conducted aboard the M55 Geophysica in the Asian monsoon region. The vertical particle mixing ratio profiles show a distinct layer (15–18.5 km), the Asian tropopause aerosol layer (ATAL). The backscatter ratio (BR) was calculated based on the aerosol size distributions and compared with the BRs detected by a backscatter probe and a lidar aboard M55, and by the CALIOP lidar. All four methods show enhanced BRs in the ATAL altitude range (max. at 17.5 km).
Ralf Weigel, Christoph Mahnke, Manuel Baumgartner, Antonis Dragoneas, Bärbel Vogel, Felix Ploeger, Silvia Viciani, Francesco D'Amato, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Beiping Luo, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11689–11722, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11689-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11689-2021, 2021
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In July and August 2017, eight StratoClim mission flights of the Geophysica reached up to 20 km in the Asian monsoon anticyclone. New particle formation (NPF) was identified in situ by abundant nucleation-mode aerosols (6–15 nm in diameter) with mixing ratios of up to 50 000 mg−1. NPF occurred most frequently at 12–16 km with fractions of non-volatile residues of down to 15 %. Abundance and productivity of observed NPF indicate its ability to promote the Asian tropopause aerosol layer.
Lukas Krasauskas, Jörn Ungermann, Peter Preusse, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Andreas Zahn, Helmut Ziereis, Christian Rolf, Felix Plöger, Paul Konopka, Bärbel Vogel, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10249–10272, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10249-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10249-2021, 2021
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A Rossby wave (RW) breaking event was observed over the North Atlantic during the WISE measurement campaign in October 2017. Infrared limb sounding measurements of trace gases in the lower stratosphere, including high-resolution 3-D tomographic reconstruction, revealed complex spatial structures in stratospheric tracers near the polar jet related to previous RW breaking events. Backward-trajectory analysis and tracer correlations were used to study mixing and stratosphere–troposphere exchange.
Nuria Pilar Plaza, Aurélien Podglajen, Cristina Peña-Ortiz, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9585–9607, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9585-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9585-2021, 2021
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We study the role of different processes in setting the lower stratospheric water vapour. We find that mechanisms involving ice microphysics and small-scale mixing produce the strongest increase in water vapour, in particular over the Asian Monsoon. Small-scale mixing has a special relevance as it improves the agreement with observations at seasonal and intra-seasonal timescales, contrary to the North American Monsoon case, in which large-scale temperatures still dominate its variability.
Felix Ploeger, Mohamadou Diallo, Edward Charlesworth, Paul Konopka, Bernard Legras, Johannes C. Laube, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Gebhard Günther, Andreas Engel, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8393–8412, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8393-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8393-2021, 2021
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We investigate the global stratospheric circulation (Brewer–Dobson circulation) in the new ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis based on age of air simulations, and we compare it to results from the preceding ERA-Interim reanalysis. Our results show a slower stratospheric circulation and higher age for ERA5. The age of air trend in ERA5 over the 1989–2018 period is negative throughout the stratosphere, related to multi-annual variability and a potential contribution from changes in the reanalysis system.
Gerald Wetzel, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Norbert Glatthor, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Thomas Gulde, Michael Höpfner, Sören Johansson, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Oliver Kirner, Anne Kleinert, Erik Kretschmer, Guido Maucher, Hans Nordmeyer, Hermann Oelhaf, Johannes Orphal, Christof Piesch, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Jörn Ungermann, and Bärbel Vogel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8213–8232, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8213-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8213-2021, 2021
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Measurements of the pollutants C2H6, C2H2, HCOOH, and PAN were performed in the North Atlantic UTLS region with the airborne limb imager GLORIA in 2017. Enhanced amounts of these species were detected in the upper troposphere and even in the lowermost stratosphere (PAN). Main sources of these gases are forest fires in North America and anthropogenic pollution in South Asia. Simulations of EMAC and CAMS are qualitatively able to reproduce the measured data but underestimate the absolute amounts.
Robin Wing, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, Thomas J. McGee, John T. Sullivan, Sergey Khaykin, Grant Sumnicht, and Laurence Twigg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3773–3794, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3773-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3773-2021, 2021
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This paper is a validation study of the newly installed ozone and temperature lidar at Hohenpeißenberg, Germany. As part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC), lidar stations are routinely compared against a travelling reference lidar operated by NASA. We have also attempted to assess potential biases in the reference lidar by comparing the results of this validation campaign with a previous campaign at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence, France.
Francesco Cairo, Mauro De Muro, Marcel Snels, Luca Di Liberto, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Ajil Kottayil, Andrea Scoccione, and Stefano Ghisu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7947–7961, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7947-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7947-2021, 2021
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A lidar was used in Palau from February–March 2016. Clouds were observed peaking at 3 km below the high cold-point tropopause (CPT). Their occurrence was linked with cold anomalies, while in warm cases, cirrus clouds were restricted to 5 km below the CPT. Thin subvisible cirrus (SVC) near the CPT had distinctive characteristics. They were linked to wave-induced cold anomalies. Back trajectories are mostly compatible with convective outflow, while some distinctive SVC may originate in situ.
Mohamadou Diallo, Manfred Ern, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7515–7544, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7515-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7515-2021, 2021
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Despite good agreement in the spatial structure, there are substantial differences in the strength of the Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC) and its modulations in the UTLS and upper stratosphere. The tropical upwelling is generally weaker in ERA5 than in ERAI due to weaker planetary and gravity wave breaking in the UTLS. Analysis of the BDC trend shows an acceleration of the BDC of about 1.5 % decade-1 due to the long-term intensification in wave breaking, consistent with climate predictions.
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.
Xiaolu Yan, Paul Konopka, Marius Hauck, Aurélien Podglajen, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6627–6645, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6627-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6627-2021, 2021
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Inter-hemispheric transport is important for understanding atmospheric tracers because of the asymmetry in emissions between the Southern Hemisphere (SH) and Northern Hemisphere (NH). This study finds that the air masses from the NH extratropics to the atmosphere are about 5 times larger than those from the SH extratropics. The interplay between the Asian summer monsoon and westerly ducts triggers the cross-Equator transport from the NH to the SH in boreal summer and fall.
Lars E. Kalnajs, Sean M. Davis, J. Douglas Goetz, Terry Deshler, Sergey Khaykin, Alex St. Clair, Albert Hertzog, Jerome Bordereau, and Alexey Lykov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2635–2648, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2635-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2635-2021, 2021
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This work introduces a novel instrument system for high-resolution atmospheric profiling, which lowers and retracts a suspended instrument package beneath drifting long-duration balloons. During a 100 d circumtropical flight, the instrument collected over a hundred 2 km profiles of temperature, water vapor, clouds, and aerosol at 1 m resolution, yielding unprecedented geographic sampling and vertical resolution measurements of the tropical tropopause layer.
Keun-Ok Lee, Brice Barret, Eric L. Flochmoën, Pierre Tulet, Silvia Bucci, Marc von Hobe, Corinna Kloss, Bernard Legras, Maud Leriche, Bastien Sauvage, Fabrizio Ravegnani, and Alexey Ulanovsky
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3255–3274, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3255-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3255-2021, 2021
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This paper focuses on the emission sources and pathways of pollution from the boundary layer to the Asian monsoon anticyclone (AMA) during the StratoClim aircraft campaign period. Simulations with the Meso-NH cloud-chemistry model at a horizontal resolution of 15 km are performed over the Asian region to characterize the impact of monsoon deep convection on the composition of AMA and on the formation of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer during the StratoClim campaign.
Masatomo Fujiwara, Tetsu Sakai, Tomohiro Nagai, Koichi Shiraishi, Yoichi Inai, Sergey Khaykin, Haosen Xi, Takashi Shibata, Masato Shiotani, and Laura L. Pan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3073–3090, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3073-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3073-2021, 2021
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Lidar aerosol particle measurements in Japan during the summer of 2018 were found to detect the eastward extension of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer from the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone in the lower stratosphere. Analysis of various other data indicates that the observed enhanced particle levels are due to eastward-shedding vortices from the anticyclone, originating from pollutants emitted in Asian countries and transported vertically by convection in the Asian summer monsoon region.
Adriana Bossolasco, Fabrice Jegou, Pasquale Sellitto, Gwenaël Berthet, Corinna Kloss, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2745–2764, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2745-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2745-2021, 2021
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Using the Community Earth System Model, we simulate the surface aerosols lifted to the Asian tropopause (the ATAL layer), its composition and trend, covering a long-term period (2000–2015). We identify a
double-peakaerosol vertical profile that we attribute to
dryand
convectivecloud-borne aerosols. We find that natural aerosol (mineral dust) is the dominant aerosol type and has no long-term trend. ATAL's anthropogenic fraction, by contrast, shows a marked positive trend.
Margaret R. Marvin, Paul I. Palmer, Barry G. Latter, Richard Siddans, Brian J. Kerridge, Mohd Talib Latif, and Md Firoz Khan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1917–1935, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1917-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1917-2021, 2021
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We use an atmospheric chemistry model in combination with satellite and surface observations to investigate how biomass burning affects tropospheric ozone over Southeast Asia during its fire seasons. We find that nitrogen oxides from biomass burning were responsible for about 30 % of the regional ozone formation potential, and we estimate that ozone from biomass burning caused more than 400 excess premature deaths in Southeast Asia during the peak burning months of March and September 2014.
Marc von Hobe, Felix Ploeger, Paul Konopka, Corinna Kloss, Alexey Ulanowski, Vladimir Yushkov, Fabrizio Ravegnani, C. Michael Volk, Laura L. Pan, Shawn B. Honomichl, Simone Tilmes, Douglas E. Kinnison, Rolando R. Garcia, and Jonathon S. Wright
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1267–1285, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1267-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1267-2021, 2021
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The Asian summer monsoon (ASM) is known to foster transport of polluted tropospheric air into the stratosphere. To test and amend our picture of ASM vertical transport, we analyse distributions of airborne trace gas observations up to 20 km altitude near the main ASM vertical conduit south of the Himalayas. We also show that a new high-resolution version of the global chemistry climate model WACCM is able to reproduce the observations well.
Johannes Schneider, Ralf Weigel, Thomas Klimach, Antonis Dragoneas, Oliver Appel, Andreas Hünig, Sergej Molleker, Franziska Köllner, Hans-Christian Clemen, Oliver Eppers, Peter Hoppe, Peter Hoor, Christoph Mahnke, Martina Krämer, Christian Rolf, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Andreas Zahn, Florian Obersteiner, Fabrizio Ravegnani, Alexey Ulanovsky, Hans Schlager, Monika Scheibe, Glenn S. Diskin, Joshua P. DiGangi, John B. Nowak, Martin Zöger, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 989–1013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-989-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-989-2021, 2021
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During five aircraft missions, we detected aerosol particles containing meteoric material in the lower stratosphere. The stratospheric measurements span a latitude range from 15 to 68° N, and we find that at potential temperature levels of more than 40 K above the tropopause; particles containing meteoric material occur at similar abundance fractions across latitudes and seasons. We conclude that meteoric material is efficiently distributed between high and low latitudes by isentropic mixing.
Corinna Kloss, Gwenaël Berthet, Pasquale Sellitto, Felix Ploeger, Ghassan Taha, Mariam Tidiga, Maxim Eremenko, Adriana Bossolasco, Fabrice Jégou, Jean-Baptiste Renard, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 535–560, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-535-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-535-2021, 2021
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The year 2019 was particularly rich for the stratospheric aerosol layer due to two volcanic eruptions (at Raikoke and Ulawun) and wildfire events. With satellite observations and models, we describe the exceptionally complex situation following the Raikoke eruption. The respective plume overwhelmed the Northern Hemisphere stratosphere in terms of aerosol load and resulted in the highest climate impact throughout the past decade.
Manuel Baumgartner, Ralf Weigel, Allan H. Harvey, Felix Plöger, Ulrich Achatz, and Peter Spichtinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15585–15616, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15585-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15585-2020, 2020
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The potential temperature is routinely used in atmospheric science. We review its derivation and suggest a new potential temperature, based on a temperature-dependent parameterization of the dry air's specific heat capacity. Moreover, we compare the new potential temperature to the common one and discuss the differences which become more important at higher altitudes. Finally, we indicate some consequences of using the new potential temperature in typical applications.
Edward J. Charlesworth, Ann-Kristin Dugstad, Frauke Fritsch, Patrick Jöckel, and Felix Plöger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15227–15245, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15227-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15227-2020, 2020
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Modeling the stratosphere requires models with good representations of chemical transport. To do this, nearly all models divide the atmosphere into boxes. This creates some unwanted problems. However, the only other option is to divide the atmosphere into balloons, and this method is very complicated. Here, we use a model which uses this balloon-like method to estimate the impacts of this method on chemical transport. We find significant differences in sensitive regions of the stratosphere.
Sören Johansson, Michael Höpfner, Oliver Kirner, Ingo Wohltmann, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Norbert Glatthor, Erik Kretschmer, Jörn Ungermann, and Gerald Wetzel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14695–14715, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14695-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14695-2020, 2020
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We present high-resolution measurements of pollutant trace gases (PAN, C2H2, and HCOOH) in the Asian monsoon UTLS from the airborne limb imager GLORIA during StratoClim 2017. Enhancements are observed up to 16 km altitude, and PAN and C2H2 even up to 18 km. Two atmospheric models, CAMS and EMAC, reproduce the pollutant's large-scale structures but not finer structures. Convection is investigated using backward trajectories of the models ATLAS and TRACZILLA with advanced detection of convection.
Mathieu Lachatre, Sylvain Mailler, Laurent Menut, Solène Turquety, Pasquale Sellitto, Henda Guermazi, Giuseppe Salerno, Tommaso Caltabiano, and Elisa Carboni
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 5707–5723, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-5707-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-5707-2020, 2020
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Excessive numerical diffusion is a major limitation in the representation of long-range transport in atmospheric models. In the present study, we focus on excessive diffusion in the vertical direction. We explore three possible ways of addressing this problem: increased vertical resolution, an advection scheme with anti-diffusive properties and more accurate representation of vertical wind. This study focused on a particular volcanic eruption event to improve atmospheric transport modeling.
Joram J. D. Hooghiem, Maria Elena Popa, Thomas Röckmann, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Ines Tritscher, Rolf Müller, Rigel Kivi, and Huilin Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13985–14003, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13985-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13985-2020, 2020
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Wildfires release a large quantity of pollutants that can reach the stratosphere through pyro-convection events. In September 2017, a stratospheric plume was accidentally sampled during balloon soundings in northern Finland. The source of the plume was identified to be wildfire smoke based on in situ measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) and stable isotope analysis of CO. Furthermore, the age of the plume was estimated using backwards transport modelling to be ~24 d, with its origin in Canada.
Martina Krämer, Christian Rolf, Nicole Spelten, Armin Afchine, David Fahey, Eric Jensen, Sergey Khaykin, Thomas Kuhn, Paul Lawson, Alexey Lykov, Laura L. Pan, Martin Riese, Andrew Rollins, Fred Stroh, Troy Thornberry, Veronika Wolf, Sarah Woods, Peter Spichtinger, Johannes Quaas, and Odran Sourdeval
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12569–12608, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12569-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12569-2020, 2020
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To improve the representations of cirrus clouds in climate predictions, extended knowledge of their properties and geographical distribution is required. This study presents extensive airborne in situ and satellite remote sensing climatologies of cirrus and humidity, which serve as a guide to cirrus clouds. Further, exemplary radiative characteristics of cirrus types and also in situ observations of tropical tropopause layer cirrus and humidity in the Asian monsoon anticyclone are shown.
Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Pasquale Sellitto, Francesco D'Amato, Silvia Viciani, Alessio Montori, Antonio Chiarugi, Fabrizio Ravegnani, Alexey Ulanovsky, Francesco Cairo, and Fred Stroh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12193–12210, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12193-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12193-2020, 2020
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The paper presents and evaluates a transport analysis method to study the convective injection of air in the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere of the Asian monsoon anticyclone region. The approach is thereby used to analyse the trace gas data collected during the StratoClim aircraft campaign. The results showed that fresh convective air can be injected fast at a high level of the atmosphere (above 17 km), with potential impacts on the stratospheric chemistry of the Northern Hemisphere.
Robin Wing, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Thomas J. McGee, John T. Sullivan, Grant Sumnicht, Gérard Ancellet, Alain Hauchecorne, Sergey Khaykin, and Philippe Keckhut
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5621–5642, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5621-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5621-2020, 2020
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A lidar intercomparison campaign was conducted over a period of 28 nights at Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP) in 2017 and 2018. The objective is to validate the ozone and temperature profiles at OHP to ensure the quality of data submitted to the NDACC database remains high. A mobile reference lidar operated by NASA was transported to OHP and operated concurrently with the French lidars. Agreement for ozone was better than 5 % between 20 and 40 km, and temperatures were equal within 3 K.
Bernard Legras and Silvia Bucci
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11045–11064, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11045-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11045-2020, 2020
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The Asian monsoon is the most active region bringing surface compounds by convection to the stratosphere during summer. We study the transport pathways and the trapping within the upper-layer anticyclonic circulation. Above 15 km, the confinement can be represented by a uniform ascent over continental Asia of about 200 m per day and a uniform loss to other regions with a characteristic time of 2 weeks. We rule out the presence of a
chimneyproposed in previous studies over the Tibetan Plateau.
Caroline A. Poulsen, Gregory R. McGarragh, Gareth E. Thomas, Martin Stengel, Matthew W. Christensen, Adam C. Povey, Simon R. Proud, Elisa Carboni, Rainer Hollmann, and Roy G. Grainger
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2121–2135, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2121-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2121-2020, 2020
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We have created a satellite cloud and radiation climatology from the ATSR-2 and AATSR on board ERS-2 and Envisat, respectively, which spans the period 1995–2012. The data set was created using a combination of optimal estimation and neural net techniques. The data set was created as part of the ESA Climate Change Initiative program. The data set has been compared with active CALIOP lidar measurements and compared with MAC-LWP AND CERES-EBAF measurements and is shown to have good performance.
Johannes C. Laube, Emma C. Leedham Elvidge, Karina E. Adcock, Bianca Baier, Carl A. M. Brenninkmeijer, Huilin Chen, Elise S. Droste, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Pauli Heikkinen, Andrew J. Hind, Rigel Kivi, Alexander Lojko, Stephen A. Montzka, David E. Oram, Steve Randall, Thomas Röckmann, William T. Sturges, Colm Sweeney, Max Thomas, Elinor Tuffnell, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 9771–9782, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9771-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9771-2020, 2020
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We demonstrate that AirCore technology, which is based on small low-cost balloons, can provide access to trace gas measurements such as CFCs at ultra-low abundances. This is a new way to quantify ozone-depleting, and related, substances in the stratosphere, which is largely inaccessible to aircraft. We show two potential uses: (a) tracking the stratospheric circulation, which is predicted to change, and (b) assessing three common meteorological reanalyses driving a global stratospheric model.
Travis N. Knepp, Larry Thomason, Marilee Roell, Robert Damadeo, Kevin Leavor, Thierry Leblanc, Fernando Chouza, Sergey Khaykin, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, and David Flittner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4261–4276, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4261-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4261-2020, 2020
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Two common measurements that represent atmospheric aerosol loading are the backscatter and extinction coefficients. Measuring backscatter and extinction coefficients requires different viewing geometries and fundamentally different instrument systems. Further, these coefficients are not directly comparable. We present an algorithm to convert SAGE-observed extinction coefficients to backscatter coefficients for intercomparison with lidar backscatter products, followed by evaluation of the method.
Aurélien Podglajen, Albert Hertzog, Riwal Plougonven, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 9331–9350, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9331-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9331-2020, 2020
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Thanks to the increase in resolution, numerical weather prediction models resolve a growing fraction of the gravity wave (GW) spectrum. Here, we assess the representation of Lagrangian GW fluctuations by comparing trajectories in the models to long-duration balloon observations. Most characteristics of the observed GW spectrum, such as near-inertial oscillations, are qualitatively present. However, the variability remains underestimated, emphasizing the continuous need for GW parameterizations.
Jonathon S. Wright, Xiaoyi Sun, Paul Konopka, Kirstin Krüger, Bernard Legras, Andrea M. Molod, Susann Tegtmeier, Guang J. Zhang, and Xi Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8989–9030, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8989-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8989-2020, 2020
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High clouds are influential in tropical climate. Although reanalysis cloud fields are essentially model products, they are indirectly constrained by observations and offer global coverage with direct links to advanced water and energy cycle metrics, giving them many useful applications. We describe how high cloud fields are generated in reanalyses, assess their realism and reliability in the tropics, and evaluate how differences in these fields affect other aspects of the reanalysis state.
Marius Hauck, Harald Bönisch, Peter Hoor, Timo Keber, Felix Ploeger, Tanja J. Schuck, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8763–8785, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8763-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8763-2020, 2020
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This study features an extended inversion method that includes transport across the extratropical tropopause to derive age spectra in the lowermost stratosphere from in situ trace gas measurements. The refined method is validated in a model setup and applied to data gained with the HALO research aircraft. Results are congruent with the findings of previous studies so that the method provides a promising toolset for the analysis of stratospheric dynamics based on observations in the future.
Dan Li, Bärbel Vogel, Rolf Müller, Jianchun Bian, Gebhard Günther, Felix Ploeger, Qian Li, Jinqiang Zhang, Zhixuan Bai, Holger Vömel, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 4133–4152, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4133-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4133-2020, 2020
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Low ozone and low water vapour signatures in the UTLS were investigated using balloon-borne measurements and trajectory calculations. The results show that deep convection in tropical cyclones over the western Pacific transports boundary air parcels with low ozone into the tropopause region. Subsequently, these air parcels are dehydrated when passing the lowest temperature region (< 190 K) during quasi-horizontal advection.
Sergey M. Khaykin, Alain Hauchecorne, Robin Wing, Philippe Keckhut, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Jacques Porteneuve, Jean-Francois Mariscal, and Jerome Schmitt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1501–1516, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1501-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1501-2020, 2020
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The article presents a powerful atmospheric instrument based on a laser radar (lidar), capable of measuring horizontal wind velocity at a wide range of altitudes. In this study, we evaluate the performance of the wind lidar at Observatoire de Haute-Provence and demonstrate the application of its measurements for studies of atmospheric dynamical processes. Finally, we present an example of early validation of the ESA Aeolus space-borne wind lidar using its ground-based predecessor.
Susann Tegtmeier, James Anstey, Sean Davis, Rossana Dragani, Yayoi Harada, Ioana Ivanciu, Robin Pilch Kedzierski, Kirstin Krüger, Bernard Legras, Craig Long, James S. Wang, Krzysztof Wargan, and Jonathon S. Wright
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 753–770, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-753-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-753-2020, 2020
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The tropical tropopause layer is an important atmospheric region right in between the troposphere and the stratosphere. We evaluate the representation of this layer in reanalyses data sets, which create a complete picture of the state of Earth's atmosphere using atmospheric modeling and available observations. The recent reanalyses show realistic temperatures in the tropical tropopause layer. However, where the temperature is lowest, the so-called cold point, the reanalyses are too cold.
Xiaolu Yan, Paul Konopka, Felix Ploeger, Aurélien Podglajen, Jonathon S. Wright, Rolf Müller, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15629–15649, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15629-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15629-2019, 2019
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The Asian and North American summer monsoons (ASM and NASM) have considerable influence on stratospheric chemistry and physics. More air mass is transported from the monsoon regions to the tropical stratosphere when the tracers are released clearly below the tropopause than when they are released close to the tropopause. Results for different altitudes of air origin reveal two transport pathways (monsoon and tropical) from the upper troposphere over the monsoon regions to the tropical pipe.
Marleen Braun, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Wolfgang Woiwode, Sören Johansson, Michael Höpfner, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Hermann Oelhaf, Peter Preusse, Jörn Ungermann, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Helmut Ziereis, and Peter Braesicke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 13681–13699, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13681-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13681-2019, 2019
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We analyse nitrification of the LMS in the Arctic winter 2015–2016 based on GLORIA measurements. Vertical cross sections of HNO3 for several flights show complex fine–scale structures and enhanced values down to 9 km. The extent of overall nitrification is quantified based on HNO3–O3 correlations and reaches between 5 ppbv and 7 ppbv at potential temperature levels between 350 and 380 K. Further, we compare our result with the atmospheric model CLaMS.
Corinna Kloss, Gwenaël Berthet, Pasquale Sellitto, Felix Ploeger, Silvia Bucci, Sergey Khaykin, Fabrice Jégou, Ghassan Taha, Larry W. Thomason, Brice Barret, Eric Le Flochmoen, Marc von Hobe, Adriana Bossolasco, Nelson Bègue, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 13547–13567, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13547-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13547-2019, 2019
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With satellite measurements and transport models, we show that a plume resulting from strong Canadian fires in July/August 2017 was not only distributed throughout the northern/higher latitudes, but also reached the faraway tropics, aided by the circulation of Asian monsoon anticyclone. The regional climate impact in the wider Asian monsoon area in September exceeds the impact of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer by a factor of ~ 3 and compares to that of an advected moderate volcanic eruption.
Pasquale Sellitto, Henda Guermazi, Elisa Carboni, Richard Siddans, and Mike Burton
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5381–5389, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5381-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5381-2019, 2019
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Volcanoes release complex plumes of gas and particles. Volcanic gases, like SO2, can additionally condense, once released, to form particles, sulphate aerosol (SA). Observing simultaneously SO2+SA is important: their proportion provides information on the internal state of volcanoes, and can be used to predict plumes' atmospheric evolution and their environmental and climatic impacts. We developed a new method to observe simultaneously, for the first time, SO2+SA using infrared remote sensing.
Henda Guermazi, Pasquale Sellitto, Juan Cuesta, Maxim Eremenko, Mathieu Lachatre, Sylvain Mailler, Elisa Carboni, Giuseppe Salerno, Tommaso Caltabiano, Laurent Menut, Mohamed Moncef Serbaji, Farhat Rekhiss, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2019-341, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2019-341, 2019
Revised manuscript not accepted
Keun-Ok Lee, Thibaut Dauhut, Jean-Pierre Chaboureau, Sergey Khaykin, Martina Krämer, and Christian Rolf
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 11803–11820, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11803-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11803-2019, 2019
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This study focuses on the hydration patch that was measured during the StratoClim field campaign and the corresponding convective overshoots over the Sichuan Basin. Through analysis using airborne and spaceborne measurements and the numerical simulation using a non-hydrostatic model, we show the key hydration process and pathway of the hydration patch in tropical tropopause layer.
Andreas Marsing, Tina Jurkat-Witschas, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Stefan Kaufmann, Romy Heller, Andreas Engel, Peter Hoor, Jens Krause, and Christiane Voigt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10757–10772, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10757-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10757-2019, 2019
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We study the partitioning of inorganic chlorine into active (ozone-depleting) and reservoir species in the lowermost stratosphere of the Arctic polar vortex, using novel in situ aircraft measurements in winter 2015/2016. We observe a change in recovery pathways of the reservoirs HCl and ClONO2 with increasing potential temperature. A comparison with the CLaMS model relates the observations to the vortex-wide evolution and confirms unresolved discrepancies in the mid-winter HCl distribution.
Isabelle A. Taylor, Elisa Carboni, Lucy J. Ventress, Tamsin A. Mather, and Roy G. Grainger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 3853–3883, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3853-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-3853-2019, 2019
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Volcanic ash is a hazard associated with volcanoes. Knowing an ash cloud’s location is essential for minimising the hazard. This includes knowing the height. This study adapted a well-known technique for obtaining the height of meteorological clouds, known as CO2 slicing, for volcanic ash. Modelled data were used to refine the method and then demonstrate that the technique could work for volcanic ash. It was then successfully applied to data from the Eyjafjallajökull and Grímsvötn eruptions.
Matthias Nützel, Aurélien Podglajen, Hella Garny, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8947–8966, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8947-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8947-2019, 2019
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We investigate the transport pathways of water vapour from the upper troposphere in the Asian monsoon region to the stratosphere. In the employed chemistry-transport model we use a tagging method, such that the impact of different source regions on the stratospheric water vapour budget can be quantified. A key finding is that the Asian monsoon (compared to other source regions) is very efficient in transporting air masses and water vapour to the tropical and extratropical stratosphere.
Matthew J. Rowlinson, Alexandru Rap, Stephen R. Arnold, Richard J. Pope, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Joe McNorton, Piers Forster, Hamish Gordon, Kirsty J. Pringle, Wuhu Feng, Brian J. Kerridge, Barry L. Latter, and Richard Siddans
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8669–8686, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8669-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8669-2019, 2019
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Wildfires and meteorology have a substantial effect on atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases such as methane and ozone. During the 1997 El Niño event, unusually large fire emissions indirectly increased global methane through carbon monoxide emission, which decreased the oxidation capacity of the atmosphere. There were also large regional changes to tropospheric ozone concentrations, but contrasting effects of fire and meteorology resulted in a small change to global radiative forcing.
Sören Johansson, Michelle L. Santee, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Michael Höpfner, Marleen Braun, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Oliver Kirner, Erik Kretschmer, Hermann Oelhaf, Johannes Orphal, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Ines Tritscher, Jörn Ungermann, Kaley A. Walker, and Wolfgang Woiwode
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8311–8338, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8311-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8311-2019, 2019
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We present a study based on GLORIA aircraft and MLS/ACE-FTS/CALIOP satellite measurements during the Arctic winter 2015/16, which demonstrate (for the Arctic) unusual chlorine deactivation into HCl instead of ClONO2 due to low ozone abundances in the lowermost stratosphere, with a focus at 380 K potential temperature. The atmospheric models CLaMS and EMAC are evaluated, and measured ClONO2 is linked with transport and in situ deactivation in the lowermost stratosphere.
Paul Konopka, Mengchu Tao, Felix Ploeger, Mohamadou Diallo, and Martin Riese
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 2441–2462, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-2441-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-2441-2019, 2019
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CLaMS is a Lagrangian transport model suitable for simulating atmospheric transport and chemistry. The novel approach of CLaMS is its description of atmospheric mixing. Whereas the common approach is to minimize the numerical diffusion ever present in the modeling of transport, CLaMS is a first attempt to apply this
undesirable disturbing effectto parametrize the true physical mixing. In this paper, we show how this concept works both in the stratosphere and in the troposphere.
Mengchu Tao, Paul Konopka, Felix Ploeger, Xiaolu Yan, Jonathon S. Wright, Mohamadou Diallo, Stephan Fueglistaler, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6509–6534, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6509-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6509-2019, 2019
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This paper examines the annual and interannual variations as well as long-term trend of modeled stratospheric water vapor with a Lagrangian chemical transport model driven by ERA-I, MERRA-2 and JRA-55. We find reasonable consistency among the annual cycle, QBO and the variabilities induced by ENSO and volcanic aerosols. The main discrepancies are linked to the differences in reanalysis upwelling rates in the lower stratosphere. The trends are sensitive to the reanalyses that drives the model.
Felix Ploeger, Bernard Legras, Edward Charlesworth, Xiaolu Yan, Mohamadou Diallo, Paul Konopka, Thomas Birner, Mengchu Tao, Andreas Engel, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6085–6105, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6085-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6085-2019, 2019
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We analyse the change in the circulation of the middle atmosphere based on current generation meteorological reanalysis data sets. We find that long-term changes from 1989 to 2015 are similar for the chosen reanalyses, mainly resembling the forced response in climate model simulations to climate change. For shorter periods circulation changes are less robust, and the representation of decadal variability appears to be a major uncertainty for modelling the circulation of the middle atmosphere.
Sabine Robrecht, Bärbel Vogel, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Karen Rosenlof, Troy Thornberry, Andrew Rollins, Martina Krämer, Lance Christensen, and Rolf Müller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5805–5833, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5805-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5805-2019, 2019
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The potential destruction of stratospheric ozone in the mid-latitudes has been discussed recently. We analysed this ozone loss mechanism and its sensitivities. In a certain temperature range, we found a threshold in water vapour, which has to be exceeded for ozone loss to occur. We show the dependence of this water vapour threshold on temperature, sulfate content and air composition. This study provides a basis to estimate the impact of potential sulphate geoengineering on stratospheric ozone.
Elisa Carboni, Tamsin A. Mather, Anja Schmidt, Roy G. Grainger, Melissa A. Pfeffer, Iolanda Ialongo, and Nicolas Theys
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4851–4862, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4851-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4851-2019, 2019
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The 2014–2015 Holuhraun eruption was the largest in Iceland for 200 years, emitting huge quantities of gas into the troposphere, at times overwhelming European anthropogenic emissions. Infrared Atmospheric sounding Interferometer data are used to derive the first time series of daily sulfur dioxide mass and vertical distribution over the eruption period. A scheme is used to estimate sulfur dioxide fluxes, the total erupted mass, and how long the sulfur dioxide remains in the atmosphere.
Rolf Sander, Andreas Baumgaertner, David Cabrera-Perez, Franziska Frank, Sergey Gromov, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Hartwig Harder, Vincent Huijnen, Patrick Jöckel, Vlassis A. Karydis, Kyle E. Niemeyer, Andrea Pozzer, Hella Riede, Martin G. Schultz, Domenico Taraborrelli, and Sebastian Tauer
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 1365–1385, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1365-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1365-2019, 2019
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We present the atmospheric chemistry box model CAABA/MECCA which
now includes a number of new features: skeletal mechanism
reduction, the MOM chemical mechanism for volatile organic
compounds, an option to include reactions from the Master
Chemical Mechanism (MCM) and other chemical mechanisms, updated
isotope tagging, improved and new photolysis modules, and the new
feature of coexisting multiple chemistry mechanisms.
CAABA/MECCA is a community model published under the GPL.
Aurélien Podglajen and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 1767–1783, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1767-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1767-2019, 2019
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The age spectrum (distribution of transit times) provides a compact description of transport from the surface to a given point in the atmosphere. It also determines the surface-emitted tracer content of an air parcel. We propose a method to invert this relation in order to retrieve age spectra from tracer concentrations and demonstrate its feasibility in idealized and model setups. Applied to observations, the approach might help to better constrain atmospheric transport timescales.
Alain Hauchecorne, Laurent Blanot, Robin Wing, Philippe Keckhut, Sergey Khaykin, Jean-Loup Bertaux, Mustapha Meftah, Chantal Claud, and Viktoria Sofieva
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 749–761, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-749-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-749-2019, 2019
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This paper presents a new dataset of temperature profiles in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere acquired with the GOMOS spectrometer on board the European satellite ENVISAT. The principle is to observe the scattering of sunlight by air molecules at the Earth limb. The observed signal is proportional to the atmospheric density from which the temperature is derived. This technique provides a new source of information on temperature where satellite observations are sparse.
Ines Tritscher, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Reinhold Spang, Michael C. Pitts, Lamont R. Poole, Rolf Müller, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 543–563, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-543-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-543-2019, 2019
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We present Lagrangian simulations of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) for the Arctic winter 2009/2010 and the Antarctic winter 2011 using the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS). The paper comprises a detailed model description with ice PSCs and related dehydration being the focus of this study. Comparisons between our simulations and observations from different satellites on season-long and vortex-wide scales as well as for single PSC events show an overall good agreement.
Mohamadou Diallo, Paul Konopka, Michelle L. Santee, Rolf Müller, Mengchu Tao, Kaley A. Walker, Bernard Legras, Martin Riese, Manfred Ern, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 425–446, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-425-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-425-2019, 2019
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This paper assesses the structural changes in the shallow and transition branches of the BDC induced by El Nino using the Lagrangian model simulations driven by ERAi and JRA-55 combined with MLS observations. We found a clear evidence of a weakening of the transition branch due to an upward shift in the dissipation height of the planetary and gravity waves and a strengthening of the shallow branch due to enhanced GW breaking in the tropics–subtropics and PW breaking at high latitudes.
Robin Wing, Alain Hauchecorne, Philippe Keckhut, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Sergey Khaykin, and Emily M. McCullough
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6703–6717, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6703-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6703-2018, 2018
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We have compared 2433 nights of OHP lidar temperatures (2002–2018) to temperatures derived from the satellites SABER and MLS. We have found a winter stratopause cold bias in the satellite measurements with respect to the lidar (−6 K for SABER and −17 K for MLS), a summer mesospheric warm bias for SABER (6 K near 60 km), and a vertically structured bias for MLS (−4 to 4 K). We have corrected the satellite data based on the lidar-determined stratopause height and found a significant improvement.
Robin Wing, Alain Hauchecorne, Philippe Keckhut, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Sergey Khaykin, Emily M. McCullough, Jean-François Mariscal, and Éric d'Almeida
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5531–5547, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5531-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5531-2018, 2018
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The objective of this work is to minimize the errors at the highest altitudes of a lidar temperature profile which arise due to background estimation and a priori choice. The systematic method in this paper has the effect of cooling the temperatures at the top of a lidar profile by up to 20 K – bringing them into better agreement with satellite temperatures. Following the description of the algorithm is a 20-year cross-validation of two lidars which establishes the stability of the technique.
Mohamadou Diallo, Martin Riese, Thomas Birner, Paul Konopka, Rolf Müller, Michaela I. Hegglin, Michelle L. Santee, Mark Baldwin, Bernard Legras, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13055–13073, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13055-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13055-2018, 2018
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The unprecedented timing of an El Niño event aligned with the disrupted QBO in 2015–2016 caused a perturbation to the stratospheric circulation, affecting trace gases. This paper resolves the puzzling response of the lower stratospheric water vapor by showing that the QBO disruption reversed the lower stratosphere moistening triggered by the alignment of the El Niño event with a westerly QBO in early boreal winter.
Jonas Hagen, Axel Murk, Rolf Rüfenacht, Sergey Khaykin, Alain Hauchecorne, and Niklaus Kämpfer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5007–5024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5007-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5007-2018, 2018
Paul I. Palmer, Simon O'Doherty, Grant Allen, Keith Bower, Hartmut Bösch, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Sarah Connors, Sandip Dhomse, Liang Feng, Douglas P. Finch, Martin W. Gallagher, Emanuel Gloor, Siegfried Gonzi, Neil R. P. Harris, Carole Helfter, Neil Humpage, Brian Kerridge, Diane Knappett, Roderic L. Jones, Michael Le Breton, Mark F. Lunt, Alistair J. Manning, Stephan Matthiesen, Jennifer B. A. Muller, Neil Mullinger, Eiko Nemitz, Sebastian O'Shea, Robert J. Parker, Carl J. Percival, Joseph Pitt, Stuart N. Riddick, Matthew Rigby, Harjinder Sembhi, Richard Siddans, Robert L. Skelton, Paul Smith, Hannah Sonderfeld, Kieran Stanley, Ann R. Stavert, Angelina Wenger, Emily White, Christopher Wilson, and Dickon Young
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11753–11777, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11753-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11753-2018, 2018
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This paper provides an overview of the Greenhouse gAs Uk and Global Emissions (GAUGE) experiment. GAUGE was designed to quantify nationwide GHG emissions of the UK, bringing together measurements and atmospheric transport models. This novel experiment is the first of its kind. We anticipate it will inform the blueprint for countries that are building a measurement infrastructure in preparation for global stocktakes, which are a key part of the Paris Agreement.
Aurélien Podglajen, Riwal Plougonven, Albert Hertzog, and Eric Jensen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 10799–10823, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10799-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10799-2018, 2018
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Using a simplified analytical setup, we show that the temperature and wind fluctuations due to an atmospheric gravity wave can induce a localization of ice crystals in a specific region of the wave. In that region, the air is nearly saturated and the vertical wind anomaly is positive. As a consequence, reversible gravity wave motions have an irreversible impact (mean upward motion) on the ice crystals. Our findings are consistent with observations of cirrus clouds near the tropical tropopause.
Armin Afchine, Christian Rolf, Anja Costa, Nicole Spelten, Martin Riese, Bernhard Buchholz, Volker Ebert, Romy Heller, Stefan Kaufmann, Andreas Minikin, Christiane Voigt, Martin Zöger, Jessica Smith, Paul Lawson, Alexey Lykov, Sergey Khaykin, and Martina Krämer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4015–4031, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4015-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4015-2018, 2018
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The ice water content (IWC) of cirrus clouds is an essential parameter that determines their radiative properties and is thus important for climate simulations. Experimental investigations of IWCs measured on board research aircraft reveal that their accuracy is influenced by the sampling position. IWCs detected at the aircraft roof deviate significantly from wing, side or bottom IWCs. The reasons are deflections of the gas streamlines and ice particle trajectories behind the aircraft cockpit.
Arno Keppens, Jean-Christopher Lambert, José Granville, Daan Hubert, Tijl Verhoelst, Steven Compernolle, Barry Latter, Brian Kerridge, Richard Siddans, Anne Boynard, Juliette Hadji-Lazaro, Cathy Clerbaux, Catherine Wespes, Daniel R. Hurtmans, Pierre-François Coheur, Jacob C. A. van Peet, Ronald J van der A, Katerina Garane, Maria Elissavet Koukouli, Dimitris S. Balis, Andy Delcloo, Rigel Kivi, Réné Stübi, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Michel Van Roozendael, and Claus Zehner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3769–3800, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3769-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3769-2018, 2018
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This work, performed at the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy and the second in a series of four Ozone_cci papers, reports for the first time on data content studies, information content studies, and comparisons with co-located ground-based reference observations for all 13 nadir ozone profile data products that are part of the Climate Research Data Package (CRDP) on atmospheric ozone of the European Space Agency's Climate Change Initiative.
Jens-Uwe Grooß, Rolf Müller, Reinhold Spang, Ines Tritscher, Tobias Wegner, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Wuhu Feng, Douglas E. Kinnison, and Sasha Madronich
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8647–8666, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8647-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8647-2018, 2018
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We investigate a discrepancy between model simulations and observations of HCl in the dark polar stratosphere. In early winter, the less-well-studied period of the onset of chlorine activation, observations show a much faster depletion of HCl than simulations of three models. This points to some unknown process that is currently not represented in the models. Various hypotheses for potential causes are investigated that partly reduce the discrepancy. The impact on polar ozone depletion is low.
Liubov Poshyvailo, Rolf Müller, Paul Konopka, Gebhard Günther, Martin Riese, Aurélien Podglajen, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8505–8527, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8505-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8505-2018, 2018
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Water vapour (H2O) in the UTLS is a key player for global radiation, which is critical for predictions of future climate change. We investigate the effects of current uncertainties in tropopause temperature, horizontal transport and small-scale mixing on simulated H2O, using the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere. Our sensitivity studies provide new insights into the leading processes controlling stratospheric H2O, important for assessing and improving climate model projections.
Richard J. Pope, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Stephen R. Arnold, Norbert Glatthor, Wuhu Feng, Sandip S. Dhomse, Brian J. Kerridge, Barry G. Latter, and Richard Siddans
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8389–8408, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8389-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8389-2018, 2018
Stefan Lossow, Dale F. Hurst, Karen H. Rosenlof, Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Sabine Brinkop, Martin Dameris, Patrick Jöckel, Doug E. Kinnison, Johannes Plieninger, David A. Plummer, Felix Ploeger, William G. Read, Ellis E. Remsberg, James M. Russell, and Mengchu Tao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8331–8351, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8331-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8331-2018, 2018
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Trend estimates of lower stratospheric H2O derived from the FPH observations at Boulder and a merged zonal mean satellite data set clearly differ for the time period from the late 1980s to 2010. We investigate if a sampling bias between Boulder and the zonal mean around the Boulder latitude can explain these trend discrepancies. Typically they are small and not sufficient to explain the trend discrepancies in the observational database.
Xiaolu Yan, Paul Konopka, Felix Ploeger, Mengchu Tao, Rolf Müller, Michelle L. Santee, Jianchun Bian, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8079–8096, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8079-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8079-2018, 2018
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Many works investigate the impact of ENSO on the troposphere. However, only a few works check the impact of ENSO at higher altitudes.
Here, we analyse the impact of ENSO on the vicinity of the tropopause using reanalysis, satellite, in situ and model data. We find that ENSO shows the strongest signal in winter, but its impact can last until early the next summer. The ENSO anomaly is insignificant in late summer. Our study can help to understand the atmosphere propagation after ENSO.
Andrea Pazmiño, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Alain Hauchecorne, Chantal Claud, Sergey Khaykin, Florence Goutail, Elian Wolfram, Jacobo Salvador, and Eduardo Quel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 7557–7572, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7557-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7557-2018, 2018
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The article mentions several symptoms of recovery. Multilinear regression analysis provides significant increase since 2001 of total ozone in Sept and during the period of maximum ozone destruction (15 Sept–15 Oct). There is significant decrease of ozone mass deficit for the same periods, decrease of relative area of total ozone values lower than 175 DU within the vortex (1 Sept–15 Oct since 2010) and a delay in the occurrence of ozone levels below 125 DU since 2005 for the 1 Sept–15 Oct period.
Jens Krause, Peter Hoor, Andreas Engel, Felix Plöger, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Harald Bönisch, Timo Keber, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Wolfgang Woiwode, and Hermann Oelhaf
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 6057–6073, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6057-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6057-2018, 2018
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We present tracer measurements of CO and N2O measured during the POLSTRACC aircraft campaign in winter 2015–2016. We found enhanced CO values relative to N2O in the polar lower stratosphere in addition to the ageing of this region during winter. By using model simulations it was possible to link this enhancement to an increased mixing of the tropical tropopause. We thus conclude that the polar lower stratosphere in late winter is strongly influenced by quasi-isentropic mixing from the tropics.
Reinhold Spang, Lars Hoffmann, Rolf Müller, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Ines Tritscher, Michael Höpfner, Michael Pitts, Andrew Orr, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5089–5113, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5089-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5089-2018, 2018
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This paper represents an unprecedented pole-covering day- and nighttime climatology of the polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) based on satellite measurements, their spatial distribution, and composition of different particle types. The climatology has a high potential for the validation and improvement of PSC schemes in chemical transport and chemistry–climate models, which is important for a better prediction of future polar ozone loss in a changing climate.
Rolf Müller, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Abdul Mannan Zafar, Sabine Robrecht, and Ralph Lehmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 2985–2997, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2985-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2985-2018, 2018
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This paper revisits the chemistry leading to strong ozone depletion in the Antarctic. We focus on the heart of the ozone layer in the lowermost stratosphere in the core of the vortex. We argue that chemical cycles (referred to as HCl null cycles) that have hitherto been largely neglected counteract the deactivation of chlorine and are therefore key to ozone depletion in the core of the Antarctic vortex. The key process to full activation of chlorine is the photolysis of formaldehyde.
Tilman Hüneke, Oliver-Alex Aderhold, Jannik Bounin, Marcel Dorf, Eric Gentry, Katja Grossmann, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Peter Hoor, Patrick Jöckel, Mareike Kenntner, Marvin Knapp, Matthias Knecht, Dominique Lörks, Sabrina Ludmann, Sigrun Matthes, Rasmus Raecke, Marcel Reichert, Jannis Weimar, Bodo Werner, Andreas Zahn, Helmut Ziereis, and Klaus Pfeilsticker
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4209–4234, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4209-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4209-2017, 2017
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This paper describes a novel instrument for the aircraft-borne remote sensing of trace gases and liquid and solid water. Until recently, such measurements could only be evaluated under clear-sky conditions. We present a characterization and error assessment of the novel "scaling method", which allows for the retrieval of absolute trace gas concentrations under all sky conditions, significantly expanding the applicability of such measurements to study atmospheric photochemistry.
Richard Siddans, Diane Knappett, Brian Kerridge, Alison Waterfall, Jane Hurley, Barry Latter, Hartmut Boesch, and Robert Parker
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4135–4164, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4135-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4135-2017, 2017
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This paper describes an algorithm to infer the global atmospheric distribution of the greenhouse gas methane, from measurements made by the infrared, nadir-viewing spectrometer IASI, on board the MetOp polar orbiting satellites. The algorithm has been applied to 9 years of data. Results are presented and validated by comparison to independent measurements.
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.
Sarah A. Monks, Stephen R. Arnold, Michael J. Hollaway, Richard J. Pope, Chris Wilson, Wuhu Feng, Kathryn M. Emmerson, Brian J. Kerridge, Barry L. Latter, Georgina M. Miles, Richard Siddans, and Martyn P. Chipperfield
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 3025–3057, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-3025-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-3025-2017, 2017
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The TOMCAT chemical transport model has been updated with the chemical degradation of ethene, propene, toluene, butane and monoterpenes. The tropospheric chemical mechanism is documented and the model is evaluated against surface, balloon, aircraft and satellite data. The model is generally able to capture the main spatial and seasonal features of carbon monoxide, ozone, volatile organic compounds and reactive nitrogen. However,
some model biases are found that require further investigation.
Georgina M. Miles, Richard Siddans, Roy G. Grainger, Alfred J. Prata, Bradford Fisher, and Nickolay Krotkov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 2687–2702, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2687-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2687-2017, 2017
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Volcanic eruptions are important in the way they perturb the climate and help us understand atmospheric processes. We show a new method to measure the SO2 released by explosive volcanic eruptions using the HIRS/2 satellite instrument, which measured atmospheric temperature and H2O. We apply the technique to the 1991 eruption of Cerro Hudson and show it is possible to detect SO2 with a good degree of accuracy. This method and instrument can potentially generate a climate-significant record.
Simone Dietmüller, Hella Garny, Felix Plöger, Patrick Jöckel, and Duy Cai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7703–7719, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7703-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7703-2017, 2017
Felix Ploeger, Paul Konopka, Kaley Walker, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7055–7066, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7055-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7055-2017, 2017
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Pollution transport from the surface to the stratosphere within the Asian summer monsoon circulation may cause harmful effects on stratospheric chemistry and climate. We investigate air mass transport from the monsoon anticyclone into the stratosphere, combining model simulations with satellite trace gas measurements. We show evidence for two transport pathways from the monsoon: (i) into the tropical stratosphere and (ii) into the Northern Hemisphere extratropical lower stratosphere.
Julius Vira, Elisa Carboni, Roy G. Grainger, and Mikhail Sofiev
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 1985–2008, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-1985-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-1985-2017, 2017
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The vertical and temporal distributions of sulfur dioxide emissions during the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull were reconstructed by combining data from the IASI satellite instrument with a dispersion model. Unlike in previous studies, both column density (the total amount above a given point) and the plume height were derived from the satellite data. This resulted in more accurate simulated vertical distributions for the times when the emission was not constrained by the column densities.
Mohamadou Diallo, Bernard Legras, Eric Ray, Andreas Engel, and Juan A. Añel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3861–3878, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3861-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3861-2017, 2017
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We construct a new monthly zonal mean CO2 distribution from the upper troposphere to the stratosphere over the 2000–2010 period. The main features of the CO2 distribution are consistent with expected variability due to the transport of long-lived trace gases by the Brewer–Dobson circulation. The method used to construct this CO2 product is unique and should be useful for model and satellite validation in the upper troposphere and stratosphere.
Sergey M. Khaykin, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Philippe Keckhut, Alain Hauchecorne, Julien Jumelet, Jean-Paul Vernier, Adam Bourassa, Doug A. Degenstein, Landon A. Rieger, Christine Bingen, Filip Vanhellemont, Charles Robert, Matthew DeLand, and Pawan K. Bhartia
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1829–1845, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1829-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1829-2017, 2017
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The article is devoted to the long-term evolution and variability of stratospheric aerosol, which plays an important role in climate change and the ozone layer. We use 22-year long continuous observations using laser radar soundings in southern France and satellite-based observations to distinguish between natural aerosol variability (caused by volcanic eruptions) and human-induced change in aerosol concentration. An influence of growing pollution above Asia on stratospheric aerosol is found.
Chaitri Roy, Suvarna Fadnavis, Rolf Müller, D. C. Ayantika, Felix Ploeger, and Alexandru Rap
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1297–1311, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1297-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1297-2017, 2017
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In the monsoon season, Asian NOx emissions are rapidly transported to the UTLS and can impact ozone in the UTLS. From chemistry–climate model simulations, we show that increasing Asian NOx emissions have enhanced ozone radiative forcing over Southeast Asia, which leads to significant warming over the Tibetan Plateau and increase precipitation over India. However, a further increase in NOx emissions elicited negative precipitation due to reversal of monsoon Hadley circulation.
Bärbel Vogel, Gebhard Günther, Rolf Müller, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Armin Afchine, Heiko Bozem, Peter Hoor, Martina Krämer, Stefan Müller, Martin Riese, Christian Rolf, Nicole Spelten, Gabriele P. Stiller, Jörn Ungermann, and Andreas Zahn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15301–15325, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15301-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15301-2016, 2016
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The identification of transport pathways from the Asian monsoon anticyclone into the lower stratosphere is unclear. Global simulations with the CLaMS model demonstrate that source regions in Asia and in the Pacific Ocean have a significant impact on the chemical composition of the lower stratosphere of the Northern Hemisphere by flooding the extratropical lower stratosphere with young moist air masses. Two main horizontal transport pathways from the Asian monsoon anticyclone are identified.
Lucy J. Ventress, Gregory McGarragh, Elisa Carboni, Andrew J. Smith, and Roy G. Grainger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 5407–5422, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-5407-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-5407-2016, 2016
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The detection of volcanic ash plumes and knowledge of their properties have been of increasing interest due to the effect ash particles can have on the aviation industry. A new method is shown for use with hyperspectral satellite instruments, such as the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer, to derive optical and physical properties of volcanic ash. The results are compared to ancillary data sources, showing good agreement, which indicates better characterisation of volcanic plumes.
Sergey M. Khaykin, Jean-Pierre Pommereau, Emmanuel D. Riviere, Gerhard Held, Felix Ploeger, Melanie Ghysels, Nadir Amarouche, Jean-Paul Vernier, Frank G. Wienhold, and Dmitry Ionov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 12273–12286, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-12273-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-12273-2016, 2016
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The study makes use of a series of field experiments conducted in Brazil and aimed at studying the processes controlling the composition of the tropical lower stratosphere. High-resolution balloon-borne measurements together with global-coverage satellite observations and weather radar acquisitions are analysed using trajectory and transport modelling in order to evaluate the contribution of different transport pathways to the stratospheric water budget.
Felix Ploeger and Thomas Birner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 10195–10213, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10195-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10195-2016, 2016
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We investigate the aging of air in the stratosphere caused by transport due to Brewer's circulation, using the Boundary Impulse Evolving Response (BIER) method. The age spectra show multiple peaks caused by the seasonal and inter-annual variations of transport. The modal age is controlled by the residual circulation in the tropics and winter hemisphere extratropics and by mixing in the summer hemisphere. Analysis of the full age spectrum is strongly recommended for model inter-comparisons.
Wolfgang Woiwode, Michael Höpfner, Lei Bi, Michael C. Pitts, Lamont R. Poole, Hermann Oelhaf, Sergej Molleker, Stephan Borrmann, Marcus Klingebiel, Gennady Belyaev, Andreas Ebersoldt, Sabine Griessbach, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Thomas Gulde, Martina Krämer, Guido Maucher, Christof Piesch, Christian Rolf, Christian Sartorius, Reinhold Spang, and Johannes Orphal
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9505–9532, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9505-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9505-2016, 2016
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The analysis of spectral signatures of a polar stratospheric cloud in airborne infrared remote sensing observations in the Arctic in combination with further collocated measurements supports the view that the observed cloud consisted of highly aspherical nitric acid trihydrate particles. A characteristic "shoulder-like" spectral signature may be exploited for identification of large, highly aspherical nitric acid trihydrate particles involved in denitrification of the polar winter stratosphere.
Jörn Ungermann, Mandfred Ern, Martin Kaufmann, Rolf Müller, Reinhold Spang, Felix Ploeger, Bärbel Vogel, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8389–8403, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8389-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8389-2016, 2016
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This paper presents an analysis of temperature and the trace gases PAN and O3 in
the Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM) region. The positive PAN anomaly consisting of
polluted air is confined vertically within the main ASM anticyclone, whereas a
recently shed eddy exhibits enhanced PAN VMRs for 1 to 2 km above the thermal
tropopause. This implies that eddy shedding provides a very rapid horizontal
transport pathway of Asian pollution into the extratropical lowermost
stratosphere.
Martin Ebert, Ralf Weigel, Konrad Kandler, Gebhard Günther, Sergej Molleker, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Bärbel Vogel, Stephan Weinbruch, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8405–8421, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8405-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8405-2016, 2016
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Stratospheric aerosol particles were collected within the arctic vortex in late winter. The chemical composition of refractory particles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. More than 750 refractory particles with diameters above 500 nm were found consisting of silicates, Fe- and Ca-rich particles and metal mixtures. The detection of refractory particles in the late winter polar stratosphere has strong implications for the formation of polar stratospheric clouds and ozone depletion.
Pasquale Sellitto, Alcide di Sarra, Stefano Corradini, Marie Boichu, Hervé Herbin, Philippe Dubuisson, Geneviève Sèze, Daniela Meloni, Francesco Monteleone, Luca Merucci, Justin Rusalem, Giuseppe Salerno, Pierre Briole, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 6841–6861, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-6841-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-6841-2016, 2016
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We combine plume dispersion and radiative transfer modelling, and satellite and surface remote sensing observations to study the regional influence of a relatively weak volcanic eruption from Mount Etna (25–27 October 2013) on the optical/micro-physical properties of Mediterranean aerosols. Our results indicate that even relatively weak volcanic eruptions may produce an observable effect on the aerosol properties at the regional scale, with a significant impact on the regional radiative balance.
Charlotte Marinke Hoppe, Felix Ploeger, Paul Konopka, and Rolf Müller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 6223–6239, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-6223-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-6223-2016, 2016
Anna E. Luebke, Armin Afchine, Anja Costa, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Jessica Meyer, Christian Rolf, Nicole Spelten, Linnea M. Avallone, Darrel Baumgardner, and Martina Krämer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5793–5809, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5793-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5793-2016, 2016
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In this study, we present observational evidence to show that two distinct types of cirrus clouds exist – in situ origin and liquid origin cirrus. These two types differ by their formation mechanism and other properties. Airborne, in-cloud measurements of cloud ice water content (IWC), ice crystal concentration (Nice), and ice crystal size from the 2014 ML-CIRRUS campaign provide cloud samples that have been divided and analyzed according to their origin type.
Dimitris Balis, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Nikolaos Siomos, Spyridon Dimopoulos, Lucia Mona, Gelsomina Pappalardo, Franco Marenco, Lieven Clarisse, Lucy J. Ventress, Elisa Carboni, Roy G. Grainger, Ping Wang, Gijsbert Tilstra, Ronald van der A, Nicolas Theys, and Claus Zehner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5705–5720, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5705-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5705-2016, 2016
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The ESA-funded SACS-2 and SMASH projects developed and improved dedicated satellite-derived ash plume and sulfur dioxide level assessments. These estimates were validated using ground-based and aircraft lidar measurements. The validation results are promising for most satellite products and are within the estimated uncertainties of each of the comparative data sets. The IASI data show a better consistency concerning the ash optical depth and ash layer height.
Tobias Wegner, Michael C. Pitts, Lamont R. Poole, Ines Tritscher, Jens-Uwe Grooß, and Hideaki Nakajima
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4569–4577, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4569-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4569-2016, 2016
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Satellite observations are used to constrain areas with large backscatter values areas inside the polar vortex. Surface area is derived from these observations and used in heterogeneous modeling. Satellite gas species observations show a decrease in HCl downwind of areas with large surface area density indicating heterogeneous processing inside these areas. This decrease can only be simulated if a realistic surface area is assumed demonstrating the importance of polar stratospheric cloud.
Elisa Carboni, Roy G. Grainger, Tamsin A. Mather, David M. Pyle, Gareth E. Thomas, Richard Siddans, Andrew J. A. Smith, Anu Dudhia, Mariliza E. Koukouli, and Dimitrios Balis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4343–4367, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4343-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4343-2016, 2016
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The Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) can be used to study volcanic emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2), returning both SO2 amount and altitude data. The series of analyzed eruptions (2008 to 2012) show that the biggest emitter of volcanic SO2 was Nabro, followed by Kasatochi and Grimsvotn. Our observations also show a tendency for volcanic SO2 to reach the level of the tropopause. This tendency was independent of the maximum amount of SO2 and of the volcanic explosive index.
Aurélien Podglajen, Riwal Plougonven, Albert Hertzog, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3881–3902, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3881-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3881-2016, 2016
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The Weather Research and Forecast model is used to simulate a large-scale tropical tropopause layer (TTL) cirrus. Validated with satellite observations, the simulation shows that several clouds successively form due to a large-scale uplift initiated by the intrusion of air from the midlatitudes. The simulated cloud field is found as sensitive to the initial condition as it is to the choice of the microphysics parametrisation. The cloud impacts on the radiative and water budgets are estimated.
Mélanie Ghysels, Emmanuel D. Riviere, Sergey Khaykin, Clara Stoeffler, Nadir Amarouche, Jean-Pierre Pommereau, Gerhard Held, and Georges Durry
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1207–1219, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1207-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1207-2016, 2016
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Water vapor in the Earth stratosphere has a significant impact on the climate and the radiative balance. Achieving high-accuracy measurements of humidity in the stratosphere is still far from routine. In this paper, we demonstrate one of the best in situ balloon-borne measurement comparisons from two highly compact spectrometers: Pico-SDLA H2O and FLASH-B.
Ann-Sophie Tissier and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3383–3398, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3383-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3383-2016, 2016
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Transit properties across the TTL are studied using forward and backward Lagrangian trajectories between cloud tops and the reference surface 380 K. The tropical domain is subdivided into 11 subregions according to the distribution of land and convection. Due to the good agreement between forward and backward statistics, we estimate the contribution of each region to the upward mass flux across the 380 K surface, the vertical distribution of convective sources and of transit times over 2005–2008.
P. Sellitto and B. Legras
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 115–132, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-115-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-115-2016, 2016
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This study investigates the sensitivity of TIR satellite nadir observations to the chemical composition and the size distribution of idealized UTLS sulfate aerosol layers. The dependence of the sulfate spectral signature, between 700 and 1200 cm−1, on the sulfuric acid mixing ratio, effective number concentration and radius, as well as the role of interfering parameters, is analysed. The information content of broadband and high-spectral-resolution observations is finally discussed.
T. Dinh, A. Podglajen, A. Hertzog, B. Legras, and R. Plougonven
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 35–46, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-35-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-35-2016, 2016
B. Vogel, G. Günther, R. Müller, J.-U. Grooß, and M. Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13699–13716, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13699-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13699-2015, 2015
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The Asian summer monsoon circulation is an important global circulation system associated with strong upward transport of tropospheric source gases. We show that the contribution of different boundary source regions to the Asian monsoon anticyclone strongly depends on its intra-seasonal variability and that emissions from Asia have a significant impact on the chemical compositions of the lowermost stratosphere of the Northern Hemisphere at the end of the monsoon season in Sep./Oct. 2012.
F. Ploeger, C. Gottschling, S. Griessbach, J.-U. Grooß, G. Guenther, P. Konopka, R. Müller, M. Riese, F. Stroh, M. Tao, J. Ungermann, B. Vogel, and M. von Hobe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13145–13159, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13145-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13145-2015, 2015
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The Asian summer monsoon provides an important pathway of tropospheric source gases and pollution into the lower stratosphere. This transport is characterized by deep convection and steady upwelling, combined with confinement inside a large-scale anticyclonic circulation in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. In this paper, we show that a barrier to horizontal transport in the monsoon can be determined from a local maximum in the gradient of potential vorticity.
M. Tao, P. Konopka, F. Ploeger, J.-U. Grooß, R. Müller, C. M. Volk, K. A. Walker, and M. Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 8695–8715, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8695-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8695-2015, 2015
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A remarkable major stratospheric sudden warming during the boreal winter 2008/09 is studied with the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS). We investigate how mixing triggered by this event correlates the wave forcing and how transport and mixing affect the composition of the whole stratosphere in the Northern Hemisphere, by using the tracer-tracer correlation technique.
W. Woiwode, O. Sumińska-Ebersoldt, H. Oelhaf, M. Höpfner, G. V. Belyaev, A. Ebersoldt, F. Friedl-Vallon, J.-U. Grooß, T. Gulde, M. Kaufmann, A. Kleinert, M. Krämer, E. Kretschmer, T. Kulessa, G. Maucher, T. Neubert, C. Piesch, P. Preusse, M. Riese, H. Rongen, C. Sartorius, G. Schardt, A. Schönfeld, D. Schuettemeyer, M. K. Sha, F. Stroh, J. Ungermann, C. M. Volk, and J. Orphal
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2509–2520, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2509-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2509-2015, 2015
A. Keppens, J.-C. Lambert, J. Granville, G. Miles, R. Siddans, J. C. A. van Peet, R. J. van der A, D. Hubert, T. Verhoelst, A. Delcloo, S. Godin-Beekmann, R. Kivi, R. Stübi, and C. Zehner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2093–2120, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2093-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2093-2015, 2015
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This work thoroughly discusses a methodology, as summarized in a flowchart, for the round-robin evaluation and geophysical validation of nadir ozone profile retrievals and applies the proposed best practice to a pair of optimal-estimation algorithms run on exactly the same level-1 radiance measurements. The quality assessment combines data set content studies, information content studies, and comparisons with ground-based reference measurements.
G. M. Miles, R. Siddans, B. J. Kerridge, B. G. Latter, and N. A. D. Richards
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 385–398, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-385-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-385-2015, 2015
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This work provides a description and validation of significantly updated algorithm for the retrieval of atmospheric ozone profiles, with a focus on the sensitivity to ozone in the lower troposphere. The satellite-derived ozone profiles are validated against ozonesondes globally, and achieves an average bias of 6% in the lower troposphere. The global distribution is also compared to the ozone distribution from a chemistry transport model, with an average agreement of less than 2 Dobson units.
M. Kaufmann, J. Blank, T. Guggenmoser, J. Ungermann, A. Engel, M. Ern, F. Friedl-Vallon, D. Gerber, J. U. Grooß, G. Guenther, M. Höpfner, A. Kleinert, E. Kretschmer, Th. Latzko, G. Maucher, T. Neubert, H. Nordmeyer, H. Oelhaf, F. Olschewski, J. Orphal, P. Preusse, H. Schlager, H. Schneider, D. Schuettemeyer, F. Stroh, O. Suminska-Ebersoldt, B. Vogel, C. M. Volk, W. Woiwode, and M. Riese
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 81–95, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-81-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-81-2015, 2015
R. Pommrich, R. Müller, J.-U. Grooß, P. Konopka, F. Ploeger, B. Vogel, M. Tao, C. M. Hoppe, G. Günther, N. Spelten, L. Hoffmann, H.-C. Pumphrey, S. Viciani, F. D'Amato, C. M. Volk, P. Hoor, H. Schlager, and M. Riese
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 2895–2916, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2895-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2895-2014, 2014
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A version of the chemical transport model CLaMS is presented, which features a simplified (numerically inexpensive) chemistry scheme. The model results using this version of CLaMS show a good representation of anomaly fields of CO, CH4, N2O, and CFC-11 in the lower stratosphere. CO measurements of three instruments (COLD, HAGAR, and Falcon-CO) in the lower tropical stratosphere (during the campaign TROCCINOX in 2005) have been compared and show a good agreement within the error bars.
B. Vogel, G. Günther, R. Müller, J.-U. Grooß, P. Hoor, M. Krämer, S. Müller, A. Zahn, and M. Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 12745–12762, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12745-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12745-2014, 2014
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Enhanced tropospheric trace gases (e.g. pollutants) were measured in situ in
the lowermost stratosphere over Northern Europe on 26 September 2012
during the TACTS aircraft campaign. We found that the combination of rapid uplift by a typhoon and eastward eddy shedding from the Asian monsoon anticyclone is a novel fast transport pathway
that may carry boundary emissions from Southeast
Asia/western Pacific within approximately 5 weeks to the lowermost
stratosphere in Northern Europe.
R. Weigel, C. M. Volk, K. Kandler, E. Hösen, G. Günther, B. Vogel, J.-U. Grooß, S. Khaykin, G. V. Belyaev, and S. Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 12319–12342, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12319-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12319-2014, 2014
C. M. Hoppe, L. Hoffmann, P. Konopka, J.-U. Grooß, F. Ploeger, G. Günther, P. Jöckel, and R. Müller
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 2639–2651, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2639-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2639-2014, 2014
W. Woiwode, J.-U. Grooß, H. Oelhaf, S. Molleker, S. Borrmann, A. Ebersoldt, W. Frey, T. Gulde, S. Khaykin, G. Maucher, C. Piesch, and J. Orphal
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11525–11544, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11525-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11525-2014, 2014
S. Molleker, S. Borrmann, H. Schlager, B. Luo, W. Frey, M. Klingebiel, R. Weigel, M. Ebert, V. Mitev, R. Matthey, W. Woiwode, H. Oelhaf, A. Dörnbrack, G. Stratmann, J.-U. Grooß, G. Günther, B. Vogel, R. Müller, M. Krämer, J. Meyer, and F. Cairo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 10785–10801, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10785-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10785-2014, 2014
S. K. Ebmeier, A. M. Sayer, R. G. Grainger, T. A. Mather, and E. Carboni
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 10601–10618, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10601-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10601-2014, 2014
D. W. Fahey, R.-S. Gao, O. Möhler, H. Saathoff, C. Schiller, V. Ebert, M. Krämer, T. Peter, N. Amarouche, L. M. Avallone, R. Bauer, Z. Bozóki, L. E. Christensen, S. M. Davis, G. Durry, C. Dyroff, R. L. Herman, S. Hunsmann, S. M. Khaykin, P. Mackrodt, J. Meyer, J. B. Smith, N. Spelten, R. F. Troy, H. Vömel, S. Wagner, and F. G. Wienhold
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 3177–3213, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3177-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3177-2014, 2014
M. Riese, H. Oelhaf, P. Preusse, J. Blank, M. Ern, F. Friedl-Vallon, H. Fischer, T. Guggenmoser, M. Höpfner, P. Hoor, M. Kaufmann, J. Orphal, F. Plöger, R. Spang, O. Suminska-Ebersoldt, J. Ungermann, B. Vogel, and W. Woiwode
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1915–1928, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1915-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1915-2014, 2014
F. Carminati, P. Ricaud, J.-P. Pommereau, E. Rivière, S. Khaykin, J.-L. Attié, and J. Warner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 6195–6211, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6195-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6195-2014, 2014
I. Engel, B. P. Luo, S. M. Khaykin, F. G. Wienhold, H. Vömel, R. Kivi, C. R. Hoyle, J.-U. Grooß, M. C. Pitts, and T. Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3231–3246, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3231-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3231-2014, 2014
J.-U. Grooß, I. Engel, S. Borrmann, W. Frey, G. Günther, C. R. Hoyle, R. Kivi, B. P. Luo, S. Molleker, T. Peter, M. C. Pitts, H. Schlager, G. Stiller, H. Vömel, K. A. Walker, and R. Müller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1055–1073, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1055-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1055-2014, 2014
S. M. Khaykin, I. Engel, H. Vömel, I. M. Formanyuk, R. Kivi, L. I. Korshunov, M. Krämer, A. D. Lykov, S. Meier, T. Naebert, M. C. Pitts, M. L. Santee, N. Spelten, F. G. Wienhold, V. A. Yushkov, and T. Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11503–11517, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11503-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11503-2013, 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
I. Engel, B. P. Luo, M. C. Pitts, L. R. Poole, C. R. Hoyle, J.-U. Grooß, A. Dörnbrack, and T. Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10769–10785, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10769-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10769-2013, 2013
M. Abalos, F. Ploeger, P. Konopka, W. J. Randel, and E. Serrano
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10787–10794, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10787-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10787-2013, 2013
E. Castelli, B. M. Dinelli, S. Del Bianco, D. Gerber, B. P. Moyna, R. Siddans, B. J. Kerridge, and U. Cortesi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2683–2701, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2683-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2683-2013, 2013
C. R. Hoyle, I. Engel, B. P. Luo, M. C. Pitts, L. R. Poole, J.-U. Grooß, and T. Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9577–9595, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9577-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9577-2013, 2013
M. von Hobe, S. Bekki, S. Borrmann, F. Cairo, F. D'Amato, G. Di Donfrancesco, A. Dörnbrack, A. Ebersoldt, M. Ebert, C. Emde, I. Engel, M. Ern, W. Frey, S. Genco, S. Griessbach, J.-U. Grooß, T. Gulde, G. Günther, E. Hösen, L. Hoffmann, V. Homonnai, C. R. Hoyle, I. S. A. Isaksen, D. R. Jackson, I. M. Jánosi, R. L. Jones, K. Kandler, C. Kalicinsky, A. Keil, S. M. Khaykin, F. Khosrawi, R. Kivi, J. Kuttippurath, J. C. Laube, F. Lefèvre, R. Lehmann, S. Ludmann, B. P. Luo, M. Marchand, J. Meyer, V. Mitev, S. Molleker, R. Müller, H. Oelhaf, F. Olschewski, Y. Orsolini, T. Peter, K. Pfeilsticker, C. Piesch, M. C. Pitts, L. R. Poole, F. D. Pope, F. Ravegnani, M. Rex, M. Riese, T. Röckmann, B. Rognerud, A. Roiger, C. Rolf, M. L. Santee, M. Scheibe, C. Schiller, H. Schlager, M. Siciliani de Cumis, N. Sitnikov, O. A. Søvde, R. Spang, N. Spelten, F. Stordal, O. Sumińska-Ebersoldt, A. Ulanovski, J. Ungermann, S. Viciani, C. M. Volk, M. vom Scheidt, P. von der Gathen, K. Walker, T. Wegner, R. Weigel, S. Weinbruch, G. Wetzel, F. G. Wienhold, I. Wohltmann, W. Woiwode, I. A. K. Young, V. Yushkov, B. Zobrist, and F. Stroh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9233–9268, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9233-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9233-2013, 2013
M. Bolot, B. Legras, and E. J. Moyer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 7903–7935, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-7903-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-7903-2013, 2013
T. Holzer-Popp, G. de Leeuw, J. Griesfeller, D. Martynenko, L. Klüser, S. Bevan, W. Davies, F. Ducos, J. L. Deuzé, R. G. Graigner, A. Heckel, W. von Hoyningen-Hüne, P. Kolmonen, P. Litvinov, P. North, C. A. Poulsen, D. Ramon, R. Siddans, L. Sogacheva, D. Tanre, G. E. Thomas, M. Vountas, J. Descloitres, J. Griesfeller, S. Kinne, M. Schulz, and S. Pinnock
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1919–1957, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1919-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1919-2013, 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
N. A. D. Richards, S. R. Arnold, M. P. Chipperfield, G. Miles, A. Rap, R. Siddans, S. A. Monks, and M. J. Hollaway
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 2331–2345, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2331-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2331-2013, 2013
M. Diallo, B. Legras, and A. Chédin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 12133–12154, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12133-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12133-2012, 2012
M. Reverdy, V. Noel, H. Chepfer, and B. Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 12081–12101, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12081-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12081-2012, 2012
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
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
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
Quantification of structural uncertainty in climate data records from GPS radio occultation
Quantifying the deep convective temperature signal within the tropical tropopause layer (TTL)
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.
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.
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
A. K. Steiner, D. Hunt, S.-P. Ho, G. Kirchengast, A. J. Mannucci, B. Scherllin-Pirscher, H. Gleisner, A. von Engeln, T. Schmidt, C. Ao, S. S. Leroy, E. R. Kursinski, U. Foelsche, M. Gorbunov, S. Heise, Y.-H. Kuo, K. B. Lauritsen, C. Marquardt, C. Rocken, W. Schreiner, S. Sokolovskiy, S. Syndergaard, and J. Wickert
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 1469–1484, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1469-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1469-2013, 2013
L. C. Paulik and T. Birner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 12183–12195, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12183-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12183-2012, 2012
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Executive editor
This article describes the effect of the recent (January 2022) Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption on the stratosphere. The eruption was highly energetic and as a result erupted material reached altitudes of around 30km. Such eruptions, with the 1991 Pinatubo eruption being a noteworthy example, often have a significant effect on tropospheric weather and climate, through the radiative effects of the volcanic aerosol, which may remain in the stratosphere for 2 or 3 years or more. In the 30 years since the Pinatubo eruption observations of the stratosphere, primarily from satellites, have improved enormously and in this Letter the authors provide a detailed description of the evolution of volcanic aerosol and of other chemical species injected by the eruption over a 6-month period following the eruption. The authors show that one important effect of the eruption was to inject a large quantity of water vapour into the stratosphere and suggest that the largest impact of the eruption on tropospheric weather and climate will be via the radiative effect of this water vapour, rather than of the injected aerosol. The initial detailed picture of the impact of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption on the stratosphere provided in this Letter will stimulate further study of this remarkable natural event, which provides a rare opportunity to test our scientific understanding.
This article describes the effect of the recent (January 2022) Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai...
Short summary
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.
The long-duration atmospheric impact of the Tonga eruption in January 2022 is a plume of water...
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