Articles | Volume 22, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15559-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15559-2022
Research article
 | 
12 Dec 2022
Research article |  | 12 Dec 2022

Vertical structure of the lower-stratospheric moist bias in the ERA5 reanalysis and its connection to mixing processes

Konstantin Krüger, Andreas Schäfler, Martin Wirth, Martin Weissmann, and George C. Craig

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Cited articles

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Birner, T. and Bönisch, H.: Residual circulation trajectories and transit times into the extratropical lowermost stratosphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 817–827, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-817-2011, 2011. 
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Bland, J., Gray, S., Methven, J., and Forbes, R.: Characterizing extratropical near-tropopause analysis humidity biases and their radiative effects on temperature forecasts, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 140, 3878–3898, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4150, 2021. 
Brewer, A. W.: Evidence for a world circulation provided by the measurements of helium and water vapor distribution in the stratosphere, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 75, 351–363, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49707532603, 1949. 
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Short summary
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.
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