Articles | Volume 24, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-317-2024
© Author(s) 2024. 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-24-317-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
11 Jan 2024
Research article |
| 11 Jan 2024
| 11 Jan 2024
Evaluation of vertical transport in ERA5 and ERA-Interim reanalysis using high-altitude aircraft measurements in the Asian summer monsoon 2017
Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
C. Michael Volk
Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Research, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
Johannes Wintel
Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Research, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
now at: Curt-Engelhorn-Centre of Archaeometry gGmbH, Mannheim, Germany
Valentin Lauther
Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Research, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
Jan Clemens
Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
Jens-Uwe Grooß
Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
Gebhard Günther
Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
Lars Hoffmann
Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
Johannes C. Laube
Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
Rolf Müller
Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
Felix Ploeger
Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
Fred Stroh
Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
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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) accounting for dehydration in the Antarctic winter vortex, and (3) considering the observed (but unexplained) depletion of HCl in mid-winter in the Antarctic vortex throughout Antarctic winter.
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We describe the new version (2.2) of the Lagrangian transport model MPTRAC, which has been ported for application on GPUs. The model was verified by comparing kinematic trajectories and synthetic tracer simulations for the free troposphere and stratosphere from GPUs and CPUs. Benchmarking showed a speed-up of a factor of 16 of GPU-enabled simulations compared to CPU-only runs, indicating the great potential of applying GPUs for Lagrangian transport simulations on upcoming HPC systems.
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We show airborne in situ measurements of the very short-lived ozone-depleting substances CH2Cl2 and CHCl3, revealing particularly high concentrations of both species in the lower stratosphere. Back-trajectory calculations and 3D model simulations show that the air masses with high concentrations originated in the Asian boundary layer and were transported via the Asian summer monsoon. We also identify a fast transport pathway into the stratosphere via the North American monsoon and by hurricanes.
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
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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.
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
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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.
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.
Jan Kaumanns, Jörn Ungermann, Bärbel Vogel, Sören Johansson, Erik Kretschmer, Felix Plöger, Peter Preuße, Wolfgang Woiwode, and Martin Riese
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-650, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-650, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
During the PHILEAS aircraft campaign a self-matching experiment was conducted to study the mixing of Asian Summer monsoon air into the UTLS. We present the first 3-D tomographic observations of this mixing for multiple trace gas species. We use advanced clustering to identify the types of air and their transport pathways. Simulations of surface-origin tracers link several of these air types to different source regions. This study shows how pollutants of the monsoon enter the stratosphere.
Irina Petropavlovskikh, Martine De Mazière, Anne M. Thompson, Jeannette D. Wild, James W. Hannigan, Henry B. Selkirk, Reem A. Hannum, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Roeland Van Malderen, Elizabeth Asher, Raul R. Cordero, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Daan Hubert, Sergey Khaykin, Karin Kreher, Thierry Leblanc, Emmanuel Mahieu, Eliane Maillard Barras, Glen McConville, Gerald Nedoluha, Ivan Ortega, Alberto Redondas Marrero, Gunther Seckmeyer, Ryan M. Stauffer, Sarah A. Strode, Kim Strong, Takafumi Sugita, Michel Van Roozendael, Voltaire Velazco, Corinne Vigouroux, and Baerbel Vogel
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6557, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6557, 2026
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This introduction to the special issue "Achievements and perspectives of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change after 35 years of operation” provides an overview of important research findings achieved under the NDACC objectives. The future of NDACC is discussed in the light of the evolution of the scientific questions, evolving collaborations with partners and Cooperating Networks, and the current landscape of gaps in satellite and ground-based observations.
Rolf Müller, Bärbel Vogel, Martina Krämer, Christian Rolf, Nicole Spelten, and Fabrizio Ravegnani
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5761, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5761, 2025
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In the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone the lapse rate tropopause, and not the cold point, constitutes a good estimate of the upper boundary of the well mixed tropospheric air mass. For strong convection there is substantial dehydration at the cold point tropopause (in summer 2017). Above the cold point tropopause, under such conditions, neither ice particle occurrence, nor enhanced molar mixing ratios of water vapour (above ≲ 6 ppm) are observed.
Paul Konopka, Felix Ploeger, Francesco D'Amato, Teresa Campos, Marc von Hobe, Shawn B. Honomichl, Peter Hoor, Laura L. Pan, Michelle L. Santee, Silvia Viciani, Kaley A. Walker, and Michaela I. Hegglin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 17973–17996, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17973-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17973-2025, 2025
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We present an improved version of the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS-3.0), which better represents transport from the lower atmosphere to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. By refining grid resolution and improving convection representation, the model more accurately simulates carbon monoxide transport. Comparisons with satellite and in situ observations highlight its ability to capture seasonal variations and improve our understanding of atmospheric transport.
Bärbel Vogel, Valentin Lauther, Franziska Köllner, Fatih Ekinci, Christian Rolf, Johannes Strobel, Ronja van Luijt, Michael C. Volk, Stephan Borrmann, Antonis Dragoneas, Oliver Eppers, Sergej Molleker, Peter Hoor, Linda Ort, Franziska Weyland, Andreas Zahn, Jan Clemens, Gebhard Günther, Oleh Kachula, Rolf Müller, Felix Ploeger, and Martin Riese
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5609, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5609, 2025
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This work highlights the impact of the Asian summer monsoon on the chemical composition of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Measurements of trace gases and aerosol particles uplifted by the Asian summer monsoon to higher altitudes are sparse. Here, we had the opportunity to use a whole suite of different measured trace gases and the chemical composition of aerosols, in combination with simulations, to better understand the complex transport and mixing processes in this region.
Peter G. Berthelemy, Corwin J. Wright, Neil P. Hindley, Phoebe E. Noble, and Lars Hoffmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 17595–17611, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17595-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17595-2025, 2025
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Atmospheric gravity waves are one of the key mechanisms for moving energy upwards through the atmosphere. We use temperature data to see them from a satellite, and here have made a new method to automatically detect them. This works by seeing if points next to each other are from the same wave. This is useful for creating larger gravity wave datasets without noise, which can then be used by climate forecasters to improve their understanding of the atmosphere.
Arno Keppens, Daan Hubert, José Granville, Oindrila Nath, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Catherine Wespes, Pierre-François Coheur, Cathy Clerbaux, Anne Boynard, Richard Siddans, Barry Latter, Brian Kerridge, Serena Di Pede, Pepijn Veefkind, Juan Cuesta, Gaelle Dufour, Klaus-Peter Heue, Melanie Coldewey-Egbers, Diego Loyola, Andrea Orfanoz-Cheuquelaf, Swathi Maratt Satheesan, Kai-Uwe Eichmann, Alexei Rozanov, Viktoria F. Sofieva, Jerald R. Ziemke, Antje Inness, Roeland Van Malderen, and Lars Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 6893–6916, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-6893-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-6893-2025, 2025
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The first Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR) encountered discrepancies between several satellite sensors’ estimates of the distribution and change of ozone in the free troposphere. Therefore, contributing to the second TOAR, we harmonise as much as possible the observational perspective of sixteen tropospheric ozone products from satellites. This only partially accounts for the observed discrepancies, with a reduction of 10–40 % of the inter-product dispersion upon harmonisation.
Oleh Kachula, Bärbel Vogel, Gebhard Günther, and Rolf Müller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 15171–15195, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-15171-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-15171-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a novel method to define the boundary of the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone (ASMA) and provide the inter-annual and intra-seasonal analyses based on 44 years (1980–2023) and highlight individual years – 2017, 2022 and 2023 during which aircraft campaigns StratoClim, ACCLIP and PHILEAS took place respectively. Our method shows consistent results with previous studies but also provide new information about possible bimodality of the ASMA and inter-annual decrease of the ASMA area.
Hongyue Wang, Mijeong Park, Mengchu Tao, Cristina Peña-Ortiz, Nuria P. Plaza-Martin, Felix Ploeger, and Paul Konopka
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 14703–14718, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-14703-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-14703-2025, 2025
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We investigate how water vapor in the upper atmosphere gains moisture during the Asian and North American monsoons using a simplified modeling approach. Our results show that the Asian monsoon is mainly controlled by large-scale temperature, whereas the North American monsoon may be more influenced by convective moistening. These differences point to distinct mechanisms shaping moisture transport in the two monsoon systems.
Frederik Harzer, Hella Garny, Felix Ploeger, J. Moritz Menken, and Thomas Birner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 14909–14921, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-14909-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-14909-2025, 2025
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We study ozone transport in the extratropical lowermost stratosphere using potential temperature as vertical coordinate, thereby distinguishing adiabatic and diabatic processes. We find that on top of known dominant transport processes (quasi-horizontal mixing, slow diabatic descent) vertical mixing plays an important role near the tropopause. Our findings are relevant for understanding ozone's role in climate including its imprint on tropospheric ozone via stratosphere-troposphere air exchange.
Gerald Wetzel, Anne Kleinert, Sören Johansson, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Michael Höpfner, Jörn Ungermann, Tom Neubert, Valéry Catoire, Cyril Crevoisier, Andreas Engel, Thomas Gulde, Patrick Jacquet, Oliver Kirner, Erik Kretschmer, Thomas Kulessa, Johannes C. Laube, Guido Maucher, Hans Nordmeyer, Christof Piesch, Peter Preusse, Markus Retzlaff, Georg Schardt, Johan Schillings, Herbert Schneider, Axel Schönfeld, Tanja Schuck, Wolfgang Woiwode, Martin Riese, and Peter Braesicke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 5873–5894, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-5873-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-5873-2025, 2025
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We present vertical trace gas profiles from the first balloon flight of the newly developed GLORIA-B limb-imaging Fourier-Transform spectrometer. Longer-lived gases are compared to external measurements to assess the quality of the GLORIA-B observations. Diurnal changes of photochemically active species are compared to model simulations. GLORIA-B demonstrates the capability of balloon-borne limb imaging to provide high-resolution vertical profiles of trace gases up to the middle stratosphere.
Phoebe Noble, Haruka Okui, Joan Alexander, Manfred Ern, Neil P. Hindley, Lars Hoffmann, Laura Holt, Annelize van Niekerk, Riwal Plougonven, Inna Polichtchouk, Claudia C. Stephan, Martina Bramberger, Milena Corcos, William Putnam, Christopher Kruse, and Corwin J. Wright
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4878, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4878, 2025
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Gravity waves are small-scale processes that drive the circulation in the middle and upper atmosphere. In this work, we assess 3 new high-resolution models against satellite data. Generally, models capture the spatial patterns and represent stratospheric northern hemisphere mountain generated waves well. However, they still underestimate amplitudes globally and struggle with the representation of southern hemispheric convective waves.
Zhen Yang, Bärbel Vogel, Felix Plöger, Zhixuan Bai, Dan Li, Sabine Griessbach, Lars Hoffmann, Frank G. Wienhold, Elizabeth Asher, Alexandre A. Baron, Katie R. Smith, Troy Thornberry, Jianchun Bian, and Michaela I. Hegglin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4842, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4842, 2025
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Night-time balloon profiles over Lhasa, combined with satellite-constrained modeling, tracked the 2019 Raikoke volcano’s aerosol plumes through the Asian summer monsoon. We find two altitude-separated routes into the anticyclone. The monsoon partly blocks transport but permits entrainment and internal mixing, explaining gradual dilution. Matching the observations required stronger subgrid mixing, and the plume likely rose ~4–5 km from radiative heating.
Elinor Tuffnell, Emma Leedham-Elvidge, William Sturges, Harald Bönisch, Karina Adcock, Paul Fraser, Paul Krummel, David Oram, Ray Langenfelds, Thomas Röckmann, Luke Western, Jens Mühle, and Johannes Laube
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4941, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4941, 2025
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The greater the stratospheric lifetime of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), the longer they will deplete ozone. This paper investigates four longer-lived CFCs, and discovers two of them have much shorter lifetimes than previously believed. Demonstrating emissions of these compounds are higher than assumed, to account for their abundance. Unusually this paper uses stratospheric whole-air samples, rather than models or lab-based experiments, to derive policy-relevant metrics for these compounds.
Rasul Baikhadzhaev, Felix Ploeger, Peter Preusse, Manfred Ern, and Thomas Birner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 12753–12777, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-12753-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-12753-2025, 2025
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Across four reanalyses, the shallow branch of the stratospheric overturning circulation was found to be driven by planetary waves 1 to 3, and the deep branch of the circulation was found to be driven by smaller-scale waves (wave 4 and higher). However, the height of the level separating the branches is dependent on the reanalysis considered. Thus, using the appropriate separation levels in model inter-comparisons could reduce the spread between models regarding climatology and trends in the circulation.
Rolf Müller, Lennart Bengtsson, John Birks, John Burrows, Ruprecht Jaenicke, and Richard S. Stolarski
Hist. Geo Space. Sci., 16, 31–40, https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-16-31-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-16-31-2025, 2025
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This paper reports a few anecdotes from the life of Paul J. Crutzen that were contributed by friends and colleagues. Taken together, these anecdotes should shed some light on the person that Paul was, as this is perhaps sometimes obscured when focusing solely on his many scientific achievements.
Johannes C. Laube, Tanja J. Schuck, Sophie Baartman, Huilin Chen, Markus Geldenhuys, Steven van Heuven, Timo Keber, Maria Elena Popa, Elinor Tuffnell, Florian Voet, Bärbel Vogel, Thomas Wagenhäuser, Alessandro Zanchetta, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 4087–4102, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4087-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4087-2025, 2025
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A large balloon was launched in summer 2021 in the Arctic to carry instruments for trace gas measurements up to 32 km, above the reach of aircraft. The main aims were to evaluate different techniques and atmospheric processes. We focus on halogenated greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances. For this, air was collected with the AirCore technique and a cryogenic air sampler and measured after the flight. A companion paper reports observations of major greenhouse gases.
Markus Jesswein, Valentin Lauther, Nicolas Emig, Peter Hoor, Timo Keber, Hans-Christoph Lachnitt, Linda Ort, Tanja Schuck, Johannes Strobel, Ronja Van Luijt, C. Michael Volk, Franziska Weyland, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8107–8126, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8107-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8107-2025, 2025
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The study investigates transport within the Asian Summer Monsoon, focusing on how CH2Cl2 reaches the subarctic tropopause region. Using data from the PHILEAS campaign in 2023, events with increased mixing ratios were detected. Their origin, the transport paths to the tropopause region, and the potential entry into the stratosphere were analyzed. The East Asian Summer Monsoon was identified as the main transport pathway, with only a small contribution to the stratosphere in the following days.
Corinna Kloss, Gwenaël Berthet, Pasquale Sellitto, Irene Bartolome Garcia, Emmanuel Briaud, Rubel Chandra Das, Stéphane Chevrier, Nicolas Dumelié, Lilian Joly, Thomas Lecas, Pauline Marbach, Felix Ploeger, Jean-Baptiste Renard, Jean-Paul Vernier, Frank G. Wienhold, and Michaela I. Hegglin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2091, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2091, 2025
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In October 2022, we detected volcanic particles in the stratosphere over France, linked to the January 2022 Hunga eruption in the South Pacific. Found between 17 and 23 km altitude, they were traced back to the tropics using trajectory simulations and satellite data. Their optical properties matched those in the Southern Hemisphere. The particles spread across the Northern Hemisphere, reflecting sunlight and slightly cooling the surface—a small but non-negligible effect.
Farahnaz Khosrawi and Lars Hoffmann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3147, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3147, 2025
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Computer performance has increased immensely in recent years, but the ability to store data has only increased slightly. This presents scientists with major challenges. Many compression methods have been developed in recent years with which data can be stored either lossless or lossy. Here we test three of these methods: two lossy compression methods and one lossless compressor. Our study shows that compression is a valuable tool to cope with the high demand of disk space from these data sets.
Mingzhao Liu, Lars Hoffmann, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Zhongyin Cai, Sabine Grießbach, and Yi Heng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4403–4418, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4403-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4403-2025, 2025
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We studied the transport and chemical decomposition of volcanic SO2, focusing on the 2019 Raikoke event. By comparing two different chemistry modeling schemes, we found that including complex chemical reactions leads to a more accurate prediction of how long SO2 stays in the atmosphere. This research helps improve our understanding of volcanic pollution and its impact on air quality and climate, providing better tools for scientists to track and predict the movement of these pollutants.
Tanja J. Schuck, Johannes Degen, Timo Keber, Katharina Meixner, Thomas Wagenhäuser, Mélanie Ghysels, Georges Durry, Nadir Amarouche, Alessandro Zanchetta, Steven van Heuven, Huilin Chen, Johannes C. Laube, Sophie L. Baartman, Carina van der Veen, Maria Elena Popa, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4333–4348, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4333-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4333-2025, 2025
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A balloon was launched in 2021 in the Arctic to carry instruments for trace gas measurements up to 32 km. One purpose was to compare measurement techniques. We focus on the major greenhouse gases. To measure these, air was sampled with the AirCore technique and with flask sampling, and samples were analysed after the flight. In flight, observations were done with an optical method. In a companion paper, we report on observations of chlorine and bromine containing trace gases.
Laura N. Saunders, Kaley A. Walker, Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Florian Haenel, Hella Garny, Harald Bönisch, Chris D. Boone, Ariana E. Castillo, Andreas Engel, Johannes C. Laube, Marianna Linz, Felix Ploeger, David A. Plummer, Eric A. Ray, and Patrick E. Sheese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4185–4209, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4185-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4185-2025, 2025
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We present a 17-year stratospheric age-of-air dataset derived from ACE-FTS satellite measurements of sulfur hexafluoride. This is the longest continuous, global, and vertically resolved age of air time series available to date. In this paper, we show that this dataset agrees well with age-of-air datasets based on measurements from other instruments. We also present trends in the midlatitude lower stratosphere that indicate changes in the global circulation that are predicted by climate models.
Shubhajyoti Roy, Satheesh P. R. Chandran, Suvarna Fadnavis, Vijay Sagar, Michaela I. Hegglin, and Rolf Müller
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1098, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1098, 2025
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We show stratospheric ozone intrusions associated with sudden stratospheric warming events enhance ozone in the lower troposphere over the South Asia. The ozone enhancement increases ozone radiative forcing by 0.04±0.03 W.m-2 over South Asia. This increase in ozone radiative forcing potentially exacerbates regional climate warming.
Florian Voet, Felix Ploeger, Johannes Laube, Peter Preusse, Paul Konopka, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Jörn Ungermann, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Michael Höpfner, Bernd Funke, Gerald Wetzel, Sören Johansson, Gabriele Stiller, Eric Ray, and Michaela I. Hegglin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3541–3565, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3541-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3541-2025, 2025
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This study refines estimates of the stratospheric “age of air”, a measure of how long air circulates in the stratosphere. By analyzing correlations between trace gases measurable by satellites, the research introduces a method that reduces uncertainties and detects small-scale atmospheric features. This improved understanding of stratospheric circulation is crucial for better climate models and predictions, enhancing our ability to assess the impacts of climate change on the atmosphere.
Prashant Chavan, Suvarna Fadnavis, Anton Laakso, Jean-Paul Vernier, Simone Tilmes, and Rolf Müller
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3825, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3825, 2025
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Our simulations with volcanoes, when compared without volcanoes, show that volcanic aerosol precursors enter the tropical stratosphere, propagating upward and enhancing sulphate aerosol and heating. This stratospheric heating caused by the volcanoes reduces the amplitude of the QBO and disrupts its phases. Since QBO also modulates tropical convection and weather, we suggest including volcanic emissions and the QBO in the weather prediction model for a better forecast.
Kimberlee Dubé, Susann Tegtmeier, Felix Ploeger, and Kaley A. Walker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1433–1447, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1433-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1433-2025, 2025
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The transport rate of air in the stratosphere has changed in response to human emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances. This transport rate can be approximated using measurements of long-lived trace gases. We use observations and model results to derive anomalies and trends in the mean rate of stratospheric air transport. We find that air in the Northern Hemisphere aged by up to 0.3 years per decade relative to air in the Southern Hemisphere over 2004–2017.
Xiaolu Yan, Paul Konopka, Felix Ploeger, and Aurélien Podglajen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1289–1305, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1289-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1289-2025, 2025
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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.
Franziska Weyland, Peter Hoor, Daniel Kunkel, Thomas Birner, Felix Plöger, and Katharina Turhal
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1227–1252, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1227-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1227-2025, 2025
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The lowermost stratosphere (LMS) plays an important role in the Earth's climate, containing strong gradients of ozone and water vapor. Our results indicate that the thermodynamic structure of the LMS was changing between 1979–2019 in response to anthropogenic climate change and the recovery of stratospheric ozone, also indicating large-scale circulation changes. We find that both the upper and the lower LMS boundaries show an (upward) trend, which has implications for the LMS mass.
Katharina Turhal, Felix Plöger, Jan Clemens, Thomas Birner, Franziska Weyland, Paul Konopka, and Peter Hoor
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13653–13679, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13653-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13653-2024, 2024
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The tropopause separates the troposphere, where many greenhouse gases originate, from the stratosphere. This study examines a tropopause defined by potential vorticity – an analogue for angular momentum that changes sharply in the subtropics, creating a transport barrier. Between 1980 and 2017, this tropopause shifted poleward at lower altitudes and equatorward above, suggesting height-dependent changes in atmospheric circulation that may affect greenhouse gas distribution and global warming.
Yiran Zhang-Liu, Rolf Müller, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Sabine Robrecht, Bärbel Vogel, Abdul Mannan Zafar, and Ralph Lehmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12557–12574, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12557-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12557-2024, 2024
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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) accounting for dehydration in the Antarctic winter vortex, and (3) considering the observed (but unexplained) depletion of HCl in mid-winter in the Antarctic vortex throughout Antarctic winter.
Ling Zou, Reinhold Spang, Sabine Griessbach, Lars Hoffmann, Farahnaz Khosrawi, Rolf Müller, and Ines Tritscher
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11759–11774, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11759-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11759-2024, 2024
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This study provided estimates of the occurrence of ice polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) observed by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) and their connection with temperatures above the frost point (Tice) using a Lagrangian model derived from ERA5. We found that ice PSCs above Tice with temperature fluctuations along the backward trajectory are 33 % in the Arctic and 9 % in the Antarctic. This quantitative assessment enhances our understanding of ice PSCs.
Sandra Graßl, Christoph Ritter, Ines Tritscher, and Bärbel Vogel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7535–7557, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7535-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7535-2024, 2024
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Arctic lidar data for 1 year are compared with global modeling of aerosol tracers in the stratosphere. A trend in the aerosol backscatter can be found. These observations are further compared with a model study to investigate the aerosol origin of the observed arctic aerosol. We found a correlation with increased backscatter signal during summer and early autumn and pathways from the Southeast Asian monsoon region and remains of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer in the Arctic.
Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath, Gopalakrishna Pillai Gopikrishnan, Rolf Müller, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, and Jerome Brioude
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6743–6756, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6743-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6743-2024, 2024
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The current understanding and observational evidence do not provide any support for the possibility of an ozone hole occurring outside Antarctica today with respect to the present-day stratospheric halogen levels.
Jan Clemens, Lars Hoffmann, Bärbel Vogel, Sabine Grießbach, and Nicole Thomas
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 4467–4493, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-4467-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-4467-2024, 2024
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Lagrangian transport models simulate the transport of air masses in the atmosphere. For example, one model (CLaMS) is well suited to calculating transport as it uses a special coordinate system and special vertical wind. However, it only runs inefficiently on modern supercomputers. Hence, we have implemented the benefits of CLaMS into a new model (MPTRAC), which is already highly efficient on modern supercomputers. Finally, in extensive tests, we showed that CLaMS and MPTRAC agree very well.
Lars Hoffmann, Kaveh Haghighi Mood, Andreas Herten, Markus Hrywniak, Jiri Kraus, Jan Clemens, and Mingzhao Liu
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 4077–4094, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-4077-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-4077-2024, 2024
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Lagrangian particle dispersion models are key for studying atmospheric transport but can be computationally intensive. To speed up simulations, the MPTRAC model was ported to graphics processing units (GPUs). Performance optimization of data structures and memory alignment resulted in runtime improvements of up to 75 % on NVIDIA A100 GPUs for ERA5-based simulations with 100 million particles. These optimizations make the MPTRAC model well suited for future high-performance computing systems.
Cristina Peña-Ortiz, Nuria Pilar Plaza, David Gallego, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5457–5478, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5457-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5457-2024, 2024
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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 sensitive to changes in its concentration. Monsoon regions play a key role in H2O transport and its concentration in the lower stratosphere. We show how the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) has a major impact on H2O over the Asian monsoon during August through changes in temperature caused by QBO modulation of tropical clouds.
Martin Ebert, Ralf Weigel, Stephan Weinbruch, Lisa Schneider, Konrad Kandler, Stefan Lauterbach, Franziska Köllner, Felix Plöger, Gebhard Günther, Bärbel Vogel, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4771–4788, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4771-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4771-2024, 2024
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Particles were collected during the flight campaign StratoClim 2017 within the Asian tropopause aerosol layer (ATAL). Refractory particles from seven different flights were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM). The most abundant refractory particles are silicates and non-volatile organics. The most important sources are combustion processes at the ground and the agitation of soil material. During one flight, small cinnabar particles (HgS) were also detected.
Hella Garny, Roland Eichinger, Johannes C. Laube, Eric A. Ray, Gabriele P. Stiller, Harald Bönisch, Laura Saunders, and Marianna Linz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4193–4215, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4193-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4193-2024, 2024
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Transport circulation in the stratosphere is important for the distribution of tracers, but its strength is hard to measure. Mean transport times can be inferred from observations of trace gases with certain properties, such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). However, this gas has a chemical sink in the high atmosphere, which can lead to substantial biases in inferred transport times. In this paper we present a method to correct mean transport times derived from SF6 for the effects of chemical sinks.
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.
Reinhold Spang, Rolf Müller, and Alexandru Rap
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1213–1230, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1213-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1213-2024, 2024
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Cirrus clouds play an important role in the radiation budget of the Earth. Despite recent progress in their observation, the radiative impact of ultra-thin cirrus clouds (UTC) in the tropopause region and in the lowermost stratosphere remains poorly constrained. Sensitivity model simulations with different ice parameters provide an uncertainty range for the radiative effect of UTCs. There is a need for better observed UTCs to enable the simulation of their potentially large effect on climate.
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.
Abhiraj Bishnoi, Olaf Stein, Catrin I. Meyer, René Redler, Norbert Eicker, Helmuth Haak, Lars Hoffmann, Daniel Klocke, Luis Kornblueh, and Estela Suarez
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 261–273, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-261-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-261-2024, 2024
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We enabled the weather and climate model ICON to run in a high-resolution coupled atmosphere–ocean setup on the JUWELS supercomputer, where the ocean and the model I/O runs on the CPU Cluster, while the atmosphere is running simultaneously on GPUs. Compared to a simulation performed on CPUs only, our approach reduces energy consumption by 45 % with comparable runtimes. The experiments serve as preparation for efficient computing of kilometer-scale climate models on future supercomputing systems.
Xue Wu, Lars Hoffmann, Corwin J. Wright, Neil P. Hindley, M. Joan Alexander, Silvio Kalisch, Xin Wang, Bing Chen, Yinan Wang, and Daren Lyu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3008, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3008, 2024
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This study identified a noteworthy time-lagged correlation between hurricane intensity and stratospheric gravity wave intensities during hurricane intensification. Meanwhile, the study reveals distinct frequencies, horizontal wavelengths, and vertical wavelengths in the inner core region during hurricane intensification, offering essential insights for monitoring hurricane intensity via satellite observations of stratospheric gravity waves.
Rolf Müller, Ulrich Pöschl, Thomas Koop, Thomas Peter, and Ken Carslaw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15445–15453, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15445-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15445-2023, 2023
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Paul J. Crutzen was a pioneer in atmospheric sciences and a kind-hearted, humorous person with empathy for the private lives of his colleagues and students. He made fundamental scientific contributions to a wide range of scientific topics in all parts of the atmosphere. Paul was among the founders of the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. His work will continue to be a guide for generations of scientists and environmental policymakers to come.
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.
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.
Marc von Hobe, Domenico Taraborrelli, Sascha Alber, Birger Bohn, Hans-Peter Dorn, Hendrik Fuchs, Yun Li, Chenxi Qiu, Franz Rohrer, Roberto Sommariva, Fred Stroh, Zhaofeng Tan, Sergej Wedel, and Anna Novelli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10609–10623, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10609-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10609-2023, 2023
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The trace gas carbonyl sulfide (OCS) transports sulfur from the troposphere to the stratosphere, where sulfate aerosols are formed that influence climate and stratospheric chemistry. An uncertain OCS source in the troposphere is chemical production form dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a gas released in large quantities from the oceans. We carried out experiments in a large atmospheric simulation chamber to further elucidate the chemical mechanism of OCS production from DMS.
Suvarna Fadnavis, Bernd Heinold, T. P. Sabin, Anne Kubin, Katty Huang, Alexandru Rap, and Rolf Müller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10439–10449, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10439-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10439-2023, 2023
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The influence of the COVID-19 lockdown on the Himalayas caused increases in snow cover and a decrease in runoff, ultimately leading to an enhanced snow water equivalent. Our findings highlight that, out of the two processes causing a retreat of Himalayan glaciers – (1) slow response to global climate change and (2) fast response to local air pollution – a policy action on the latter is more likely to be within the reach of possible policy action to help billions of people in southern Asia.
Mingzhao Liu, Lars Hoffmann, Sabine Griessbach, Zhongyin Cai, Yi Heng, and Xue Wu
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 5197–5217, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5197-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5197-2023, 2023
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We introduce new and revised chemistry and physics modules in the Massive-Parallel Trajectory Calculations (MPTRAC) Lagrangian transport model aiming to improve the representation of volcanic SO2 transport and depletion. We test these modules in a case study of the Ambae eruption in July 2018 in which the SO2 plume underwent wet removal and convection. The lifetime of SO2 shows highly variable and complex dependencies on the atmospheric conditions at different release heights.
Lars Hoffmann, Paul Konopka, Jan Clemens, and Bärbel Vogel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7589–7609, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7589-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7589-2023, 2023
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Atmospheric convection plays a key role in tracer transport in the troposphere. Global meteorological forecasts and reanalyses typically have a coarse spatiotemporal resolution that does not adequately resolve the dynamics, transport, and mixing of air associated with storm systems or deep convection. We discuss the application of the extreme convection parameterization in a Lagrangian transport model to improve simulations of tracer transport from the boundary layer into the free troposphere.
Dirk Offermann, Christoph Kalicinsky, Ralf Koppmann, and Johannes Wintel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3267–3278, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3267-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3267-2023, 2023
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Atmospheric oscillations with periods between 5 and more than 200 years are believed to be self-excited (internal) in the atmosphere, i.e. non-anthropogenic. They are found at all altitudes up to 110 km and at four very different geographical locations (75° N, 70° E; 75° N, 280° E; 50° N, 7° E; 50° S, 7° E). Therefore, they hint at a global-oscillation mode. Their amplitudes are on the order of present-day climate trends, and it is therefore difficult to disentangle them.
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.
Bernard Legras, Clair Duchamp, Pasquale Sellitto, Aurélien Podglajen, Elisa Carboni, Richard Siddans, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Sergey Khaykin, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14957–14970, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14957-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14957-2022, 2022
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The long-duration atmospheric impact of the Tonga eruption in January 2022 is a plume of water and sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere that persisted for more than 6 months. We study this evolution using several satellite instruments and analyse the unusual behaviour of this plume as sulfates and water first moved down rapidly and then separated into two layers. We also report the self-organization in compact and long-lived patches.
Mohamadou A. Diallo, Felix Ploeger, Michaela I. Hegglin, Manfred Ern, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Sergey Khaykin, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14303–14321, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14303-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14303-2022, 2022
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The quasi-biennial oacillation disruption events in both 2016 and 2020 decreased lower-stratospheric water vapour and ozone. Differences in the strength and depth of the anomalous lower-stratospheric circulation and ozone are due to differences in tropical upwelling and cold-point temperature induced by lower-stratospheric planetary and gravity wave breaking. The differences in water vapour are due to higher cold-point temperature in 2020 induced by Australian wildfire.
Oliver Appel, Franziska Köllner, Antonis Dragoneas, Andreas Hünig, Sergej Molleker, Hans Schlager, Christoph Mahnke, Ralf Weigel, Max Port, Christiane Schulz, Frank Drewnick, Bärbel Vogel, Fred Stroh, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13607–13630, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13607-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13607-2022, 2022
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This paper clarifies the chemical composition of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer (ATAL) by means of airborne in situ aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS). Ammonium nitrate and organics are found to significantly contribute to the particle layer, while sulfate does not show a layered structure. An analysis of the single-particle mass spectra suggests that secondary particle formation and subsequent growth dominate the particle composition, rather than condensation on pre-existing primary particles.
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.
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.
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.
Zhongyin Cai, Sabine Griessbach, and Lars Hoffmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 6787–6809, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6787-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6787-2022, 2022
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Using AIRS and TROPOMI sulfur dioxide retrievals and the Lagrangian transport model MPTRAC, we present an improved reconstruction of injection parameters of the 2019 Raikoke eruption. Reconstructions agree well between using AIRS nighttime and TROPOMI daytime retrievals, showing the potential of our approach to create a long-term volcanic sulfur dioxide inventory from nearly 20 years of AIRS retrievals.
Ling Zou, Sabine Griessbach, Lars Hoffmann, and Reinhold Spang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 6677–6702, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6677-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6677-2022, 2022
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Ice clouds in the stratosphere (SICs) greatly affect the water vapor balance and radiation budget in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). We quantified the global SICs and analyzed their relationships with tropopause temperature, double tropopauses, UTLS clouds, gravity waves, and stratospheric aerosols. The correlations between SICs and all abovementioned processes indicate that the occurrence of and variability in SICs are spatiotemporally dependent on different processes.
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.
Lars Hoffmann, Paul F. Baumeister, Zhongyin Cai, Jan Clemens, Sabine Griessbach, Gebhard Günther, Yi Heng, Mingzhao Liu, Kaveh Haghighi Mood, Olaf Stein, Nicole Thomas, Bärbel Vogel, Xue Wu, and Ling Zou
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 2731–2762, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2731-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2731-2022, 2022
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We describe the new version (2.2) of the Lagrangian transport model MPTRAC, which has been ported for application on GPUs. The model was verified by comparing kinematic trajectories and synthetic tracer simulations for the free troposphere and stratosphere from GPUs and CPUs. Benchmarking showed a speed-up of a factor of 16 of GPU-enabled simulations compared to CPU-only runs, indicating the great potential of applying GPUs for Lagrangian transport simulations on upcoming HPC systems.
Lars Hoffmann and Reinhold Spang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4019–4046, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4019-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4019-2022, 2022
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We present an intercomparison of 2009–2018 lapse rate tropopause characteristics as derived from ECMWF's ERA5 and ERA-Interim reanalyses. Large-scale features are similar, but ERA5 shows notably larger variability, which we mainly attribute to UTLS temperature fluctuations due to gravity waves being better resolved by ECMWF's IFS forecast model. Following evaluation with radiosondes and GPS data, we conclude ERA5 will be a more suitable asset for tropopause-related studies in future work.
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.
Paul F. Baumeister and Lars Hoffmann
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 1855–1874, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1855-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1855-2022, 2022
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The efficiency of the numerical simulation of radiative transport is shown on modern server-class graphics cards (GPUs). The low-cost prefactor on GPUs compared to general-purpose processors (CPUs) enables future large retrieval campaigns for multi-channel data from infrared sounders aboard low-orbit satellites. The validated research software JURASSIC is available in the public domain.
Valentin Lauther, Bärbel Vogel, Johannes Wintel, Andrea Rau, Peter Hoor, Vera Bense, Rolf Müller, and C. Michael Volk
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2049–2077, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2049-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2049-2022, 2022
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We show airborne in situ measurements of the very short-lived ozone-depleting substances CH2Cl2 and CHCl3, revealing particularly high concentrations of both species in the lower stratosphere. Back-trajectory calculations and 3D model simulations show that the air masses with high concentrations originated in the Asian boundary layer and were transported via the Asian summer monsoon. We also identify a fast transport pathway into the stratosphere via the North American monsoon and by hurricanes.
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.
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).
Prashant Chavan, Suvarna Fadnavis, Tanusri Chakroborty, Christopher E. Sioris, Sabine Griessbach, and Rolf Müller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14371–14384, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14371-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14371-2021, 2021
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Biomass burning (BB) over Asia is a strong source of carbonaceous aerosols during spring. Here, we show an outflow of Asian BB carbonaceous aerosols into the UTLS. These aerosols enhance atmospheric heating and produce circulation changes that lead to the enhancement of water vapor in the UTLS over the tropics. In the stratosphere, water vapor is further transported to the South Pole by the Brewer–Dobson circulation. Enhancement of water vapor in the UTLS has implications for climate change.
Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath, Wuhu Feng, Rolf Müller, Pankaj Kumar, Sarath Raj, Gopalakrishna Pillai Gopikrishnan, and Raina Roy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14019–14037, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14019-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14019-2021, 2021
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The Arctic winter/spring 2020 was one of the coldest with a strong and long-lasting vortex, high chlorine activation, severe denitrification, and unprecedented ozone loss. The loss was even equal to the levels of some of the warm Antarctic winters. Total column ozone values below 220 DU for several weeks and ozone loss saturation were observed during the period. These results show an unusual meteorology and warrant dedicated studies on the impact of climate change on ozone loss.
Corwin J. Wright, Neil P. Hindley, M. Joan Alexander, Laura A. Holt, and Lars Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5873–5886, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5873-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5873-2021, 2021
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Measuring atmospheric gravity waves in low vertical-resolution data is technically challenging, especially when the waves are significantly longer in the vertical than in the length of the measurement domain. We introduce and demonstrate a modification to the existing Stockwell transform methods of characterising these waves that address these problems, with no apparent reduction in the other capabilities of the technique.
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.
Ling Zou, Lars Hoffmann, Sabine Griessbach, Reinhold Spang, and Lunche Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10457–10475, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10457-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10457-2021, 2021
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Ice clouds in the lowermost stratosphere (SICs) have important impacts on the radiation budget and climate change. We quantified the occurrence of SICs over North America and analysed its relations with convective systems and gravity waves to investigate potential formation mechanisms of SICs. Deep convection is proved to be the primary factor linked to the occurrence of SICs over North America.
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.
Michael Weimer, Jennifer Buchmüller, Lars Hoffmann, Ole Kirner, Beiping Luo, Roland Ruhnke, Michael Steiner, Ines Tritscher, and Peter Braesicke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9515–9543, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9515-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9515-2021, 2021
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We show that we are able to directly simulate polar stratospheric clouds formed locally in a mountain wave and represent their effect on the ozone chemistry with the global atmospheric chemistry model ICON-ART. Thus, we show the first simulations that close the gap between directly resolved mountain-wave-induced polar stratospheric clouds and their representation at coarse global resolutions.
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.
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.
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.
Max Thomas, Johannes C. Laube, Jan Kaiser, Samuel Allin, Patricia Martinerie, Robert Mulvaney, Anna Ridley, Thomas Röckmann, William T. Sturges, and Emmanuel Witrant
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6857–6873, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6857-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6857-2021, 2021
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CFC gases are destroying the Earth's life-protecting ozone layer. We improve understanding of CFC destruction by measuring the isotopic fingerprint of the carbon in the three most abundant CFCs. These are the first such measurements in the main region where CFCs are destroyed – the stratosphere. We reconstruct the atmospheric isotope histories of these CFCs back to the 1950s by measuring air extracted from deep snow and using a model. The model and the measurements are generally consistent.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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Short summary
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.
Over the Indian subcontinent, polluted air is rapidly uplifted to higher altitudes during the...
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