Articles | Volume 24, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7405-2024
© 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-24-7405-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
28 Jun 2024
Research article |
| 28 Jun 2024
| 28 Jun 2024
Variability and long-term changes in tropical cold-point temperature and water vapor
Mona Zolghadrshojaee
Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Susann Tegtmeier
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Sean M. Davis
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
Robin Pilch Kedzierski
Meteorological Institute, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Related authors
Mona Zolghadrshojaee, Susann Tegtmeier, Sean M. Davis, Robin Pilch Kedzierski, and Leopold Haimberger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-82, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-82, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The tropical tropopause layer (TTL) is a crucial region where the troposphere transitions into the stratosphere, influencing air mass transport. This study examines temperature trends in the TTL and lower stratosphere using data from weather balloons, satellites, and reanalysis datasets. We found cooling trends in the TTL from 1980–2001, followed by warming from 2002–2023. These shifts are linked to changes in atmospheric circulation and impact water vapor transport into the stratosphere.
Nigel A. D. Richards, Natalya A. Kramarova, Stacey M. Frith, Sean M. Davis, and Yue Jia
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4117, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4117, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
The Montreal Protocol has led to a slow recovery in the Earth's ozone layer. To detect such changes, and to monitor the health of the ozone layer, long term global observations are needed. The OMPS Limb Profiler (LP) series of satellite sensors are designed to meet this need. We validate the latest version OMPS LP ozone profiles against other satellite and ground based measurements. We find that OMPS LP ozone is consistent with other data sources and is suitable for use in ozone trend studies.
Matthew Toohey, Yue Jia, Sujan Khanal, and Susann Tegtmeier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3821–3839, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3821-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3821-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The climate impact of volcanic eruptions depends in part on how long aerosols spend in the stratosphere. We develop a conceptual model for stratospheric aerosol lifetime in terms of production and decay timescales, as well as a lag between injection and decay. We find residence time depends strongly on injection height in the lower stratosphere. We show that the lifetime of stratospheric aerosol from the 1991 Pinatubo eruption is around 22 months, significantly longer than is commonly reported.
Shenglong Zhang, Jiao Chen, Jonathon S. Wright, Sean M. Davis, Jie Gao, Paul Konopka, Ninghui Li, Mengqian Lu, Susann Tegtmeier, Xiaolu Yan, Guang J. Zhang, and Nuanliang Zhu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-543, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-543, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study examines water vapor changes in the upper atmosphere above the Asian summer monsoon using satellite data and climate models. Three key patterns of variability were identified: year-to-year changes, and two shifting distributions driven by weather and monsoon dynamics. Despite uncertainties, modern models are improving in capturing these processes. This enhances understanding of water vapor’s role in the upper atmosphere.
Jonathon S. Wright, Shenglong Zhang, Jiao Chen, Sean M. Davis, Paul Konopka, Mengqian Lu, Xiaolu Yan, and Guang J. Zhang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-135, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-135, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric reanalysis products reconstruct the past states of the atmosphere. These products are often used to study winds and temperatures in the upper-level monsoon circulation, but their ability to reproduce composition fields like water vapor and ozone has been questionable at best. Here we report clear signs of improvement in both consistency across reanalyses and agreement with satellite observations, outline limitations and suggest steps to further enhance the usefulness of these fields.
Mona Zolghadrshojaee, Susann Tegtmeier, Sean M. Davis, Robin Pilch Kedzierski, and Leopold Haimberger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-82, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-82, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The tropical tropopause layer (TTL) is a crucial region where the troposphere transitions into the stratosphere, influencing air mass transport. This study examines temperature trends in the TTL and lower stratosphere using data from weather balloons, satellites, and reanalysis datasets. We found cooling trends in the TTL from 1980–2001, followed by warming from 2002–2023. These shifts are linked to changes in atmospheric circulation and impact water vapor transport into the stratosphere.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Kimberlee Dubé, Susann Tegtmeier, Adam Bourassa, Daniel Zawada, Douglas Degenstein, William Randel, Sean Davis, Michael Schwartz, Nathaniel Livesey, and Anne Smith
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12925–12941, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12925-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12925-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Greenhouse gas emissions that warm the troposphere also result in stratospheric cooling. The cooling rate is difficult to quantify above 35 km due to a deficit of long-term observational data with high vertical resolution in this region. We use satellite observations from several instruments, including a new temperature product from OSIRIS, to show that the upper stratosphere, from 35–60 km, cooled by 0.5 to 1 K per decade over 2005–2021 and by 0.6 K per decade over 1979–2021.
Masatomo Fujiwara, Patrick Martineau, Jonathon S. Wright, Marta Abalos, Petr Šácha, Yoshio Kawatani, Sean M. Davis, Thomas Birner, and Beatriz M. Monge-Sanz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7873–7898, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7873-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7873-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A climatology of the major variables and terms of the transformed Eulerian-mean (TEM) momentum and thermodynamic equations from four global atmospheric reanalyses is evaluated. The spread among reanalysis TEM momentum balance terms is around 10 % in Northern Hemisphere winter and up to 50 % in Southern Hemisphere winter. The largest uncertainties in the thermodynamic equation (about 50 %) are in the vertical advection, which does not show a structure consistent with the differences in heating.
Bjorn Stevens, Stefan Adami, Tariq Ali, Hartwig Anzt, Zafer Aslan, Sabine Attinger, Jaana Bäck, Johanna Baehr, Peter Bauer, Natacha Bernier, Bob Bishop, Hendryk Bockelmann, Sandrine Bony, Guy Brasseur, David N. Bresch, Sean Breyer, Gilbert Brunet, Pier Luigi Buttigieg, Junji Cao, Christelle Castet, Yafang Cheng, Ayantika Dey Choudhury, Deborah Coen, Susanne Crewell, Atish Dabholkar, Qing Dai, Francisco Doblas-Reyes, Dale Durran, Ayoub El Gaidi, Charlie Ewen, Eleftheria Exarchou, Veronika Eyring, Florencia Falkinhoff, David Farrell, Piers M. Forster, Ariane Frassoni, Claudia Frauen, Oliver Fuhrer, Shahzad Gani, Edwin Gerber, Debra Goldfarb, Jens Grieger, Nicolas Gruber, Wilco Hazeleger, Rolf Herken, Chris Hewitt, Torsten Hoefler, Huang-Hsiung Hsu, Daniela Jacob, Alexandra Jahn, Christian Jakob, Thomas Jung, Christopher Kadow, In-Sik Kang, Sarah Kang, Karthik Kashinath, Katharina Kleinen-von Königslöw, Daniel Klocke, Uta Kloenne, Milan Klöwer, Chihiro Kodama, Stefan Kollet, Tobias Kölling, Jenni Kontkanen, Steve Kopp, Michal Koran, Markku Kulmala, Hanna Lappalainen, Fakhria Latifi, Bryan Lawrence, June Yi Lee, Quentin Lejeun, Christian Lessig, Chao Li, Thomas Lippert, Jürg Luterbacher, Pekka Manninen, Jochem Marotzke, Satoshi Matsouoka, Charlotte Merchant, Peter Messmer, Gero Michel, Kristel Michielsen, Tomoki Miyakawa, Jens Müller, Ramsha Munir, Sandeep Narayanasetti, Ousmane Ndiaye, Carlos Nobre, Achim Oberg, Riko Oki, Tuba Özkan-Haller, Tim Palmer, Stan Posey, Andreas Prein, Odessa Primus, Mike Pritchard, Julie Pullen, Dian Putrasahan, Johannes Quaas, Krishnan Raghavan, Venkatachalam Ramaswamy, Markus Rapp, Florian Rauser, Markus Reichstein, Aromar Revi, Sonakshi Saluja, Masaki Satoh, Vera Schemann, Sebastian Schemm, Christina Schnadt Poberaj, Thomas Schulthess, Cath Senior, Jagadish Shukla, Manmeet Singh, Julia Slingo, Adam Sobel, Silvina Solman, Jenna Spitzer, Philip Stier, Thomas Stocker, Sarah Strock, Hang Su, Petteri Taalas, John Taylor, Susann Tegtmeier, Georg Teutsch, Adrian Tompkins, Uwe Ulbrich, Pier-Luigi Vidale, Chien-Ming Wu, Hao Xu, Najibullah Zaki, Laure Zanna, Tianjun Zhou, and Florian Ziemen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2113–2122, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2113-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2113-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
To manage Earth in the Anthropocene, new tools, new institutions, and new forms of international cooperation will be required. Earth Virtualization Engines is proposed as an international federation of centers of excellence to empower all people to respond to the immense and urgent challenges posed by climate change.
Daniel Zawada, Kimberlee Dubé, Taran Warnock, Adam Bourassa, Susann Tegtmeier, and Douglas Degenstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1995–2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1995-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1995-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
There remain large uncertainties in long-term changes of stratospheric–atmospheric temperatures. We have produced a time series of more than 20 years of satellite-based temperature measurements from the OSIRIS instrument in the upper–middle stratosphere. The dataset is publicly available and intended to be used for a better understanding of changes in stratospheric temperatures.
Tabea Rahm, Robin Pilch Kedzierski, Martje Hänsch, and Katja Matthes
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-667, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-667, 2024
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSWs) are extreme wintertime events that can impact surface weather. However, a distinct surface response is not observed for every SSW. Here, we classify SSWs that do and do not impact the troposphere in ERA5 reanalysis data. In addition, we evaluate the effects of two kinds of waves: planetary and synoptic-scale. Our findings emphasize that the lower stratosphere and synoptic-scale waves play crucial roles in coupling the SSW signal to the surface.
Abhishek Savita, Joakim Kjellsson, Robin Pilch Kedzierski, Mojib Latif, Tabea Rahm, Sebastian Wahl, and Wonsun Park
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 1813–1829, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-1813-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-1813-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The OpenIFS model is used to examine the impact of horizontal resolutions (HR) and model time steps. We find that the surface wind biases over the oceans, in particular the Southern Ocean, are sensitive to the model time step and HR, with the HR having the smallest biases. When using a coarse-resolution model with a shorter time step, a similar improvement is also found. Climate biases can be reduced in the OpenIFS model at a cheaper cost by reducing the time step rather than increasing the HR.
Kimberlee Dubé, Susann Tegtmeier, Adam Bourassa, Daniel Zawada, Douglas Degenstein, Patrick E. Sheese, Kaley A. Walker, and William Randel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13283–13300, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13283-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13283-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a technique for understanding the causes of long-term changes in stratospheric composition. By using N2O as a proxy for stratospheric circulation in the model used to calculated trends, it is possible to separate the effects of dynamics and chemistry on observed trace gas trends. We find that observed HCl increases are due to changes in the stratospheric circulation, as are O3 decreases above 30 hPa in the Northern Hemisphere.
Sean M. Davis, Nicholas Davis, Robert W. Portmann, Eric Ray, and Karen Rosenlof
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3347–3361, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3347-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3347-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Ozone in the lower part of the stratosphere has not increased and has perhaps even continued to decline in recent decades. This study demonstrates that the amount of ozone in this region is highly sensitive to the amount of air upwelling into the stratosphere in the tropics and that simulations from a climate model nudged to historical meteorological fields often fail to accurately capture the variations in tropical upwelling that control short-term trends in lower-stratospheric ozone.
J. Douglas Goetz, Lars E. Kalnajs, Terry Deshler, Sean M. Davis, Martina Bramberger, and M. Joan Alexander
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 791–807, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-791-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-791-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
An instrument for in situ continuous 2 km vertical profiles of temperature below high-altitude balloons was developed for high-temporal-resolution measurements within the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere using fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing. The mechanical, electrical, and temperature calibration systems were validated from a short mid-latitude constant-altitude balloon flight within the lower stratosphere. The instrument observed small-scale and inertial gravity waves.
Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Niramson Azouz, Viktoria F. Sofieva, Daan Hubert, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Peter Effertz, Gérard Ancellet, Doug A. Degenstein, Daniel Zawada, Lucien Froidevaux, Stacey Frith, Jeannette Wild, Sean Davis, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, Thierry Leblanc, Richard Querel, Kleareti Tourpali, Robert Damadeo, Eliane Maillard Barras, René Stübi, Corinne Vigouroux, Carlo Arosio, Gerald Nedoluha, Ian Boyd, Roeland Van Malderen, Emmanuel Mahieu, Dan Smale, and Ralf Sussmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11657–11673, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11657-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11657-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
An updated evaluation up to 2020 of stratospheric ozone profile long-term trends at extrapolar latitudes based on satellite and ground-based records is presented. Ozone increase in the upper stratosphere is confirmed, with significant trends at most latitudes. In this altitude region, a very good agreement is found with trends derived from chemistry–climate model simulations. Observed and modelled trends diverge in the lower stratosphere, but the differences are non-significant.
Kristof Bognar, Susann Tegtmeier, Adam Bourassa, Chris Roth, Taran Warnock, Daniel Zawada, and Doug Degenstein
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9553–9569, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9553-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9553-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We quantify recent changes in stratospheric ozone (outside the polar regions) using a combination of three satellite datasets. We find that upper stratospheric ozone have increased significantly since 2000, although the recovery shows an unexpected pause in the Northern Hemisphere. Combined with the likely decrease in ozone in the lower stratosphere, this presents an interesting challenge for predicting the future of the ozone layer.
Yue Jia, Birgit Quack, Robert D. Kinley, Ignacio Pisso, and Susann Tegtmeier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7631–7646, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7631-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7631-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we assessed the potential risks of bromoform released from Asparagopsis farming near Australia for the stratospheric ozone layer by analyzing different cultivation scenarios. We conclude that the intended operation of Asparagopsis seaweed cultivation farms with an annual yield to meet the needs of 50 % of feedlots and cattle in either open-ocean or terrestrial cultures in Australia will not impact the ozone layer under normal operating conditions.
Shlomi Ziskin Ziv, Chaim I. Garfinkel, Sean Davis, and Antara Banerjee
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7523–7538, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7523-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7523-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Stratospheric water vapor is important for Earth's overall greenhouse effect and for ozone chemistry; however the factors governing its variability on interannual timescales are not fully known, and previous modeling studies have indicated that models struggle to capture this interannual variability. We demonstrate that nonlinear interactions are important for determining overall water vapor concentrations and also that models have improved in their ability to capture these connections.
Susann Tegtmeier, Christa Marandino, Yue Jia, Birgit Quack, and Anoop S. Mahajan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 6625–6676, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6625-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6625-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, intense anthropogenic pollution from Southeast Asia mixes with pristine oceanic air. During the winter monsoon, high pollution levels are regularly observed over the entire northern Indian Ocean, while during the summer monsoon, clean air dominates. Here, we review current progress in detecting and understanding atmospheric gas-phase composition over the Indian Ocean and its impacts on the upper atmosphere, oceanic biogeochemistry, and marine ecosystems.
Michaela I. Hegglin, Susann Tegtmeier, John Anderson, Adam E. Bourassa, Samuel Brohede, Doug Degenstein, Lucien Froidevaux, Bernd Funke, John Gille, Yasuko Kasai, Erkki T. Kyrölä, Jerry Lumpe, Donal Murtagh, Jessica L. Neu, Kristell Pérot, Ellis E. Remsberg, Alexei Rozanov, Matthew Toohey, Joachim Urban, Thomas von Clarmann, Kaley A. Walker, Hsiang-Jui Wang, Carlo Arosio, Robert Damadeo, Ryan A. Fuller, Gretchen Lingenfelser, Christopher McLinden, Diane Pendlebury, Chris Roth, Niall J. Ryan, Christopher Sioris, Lesley Smith, and Katja Weigel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1855–1903, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1855-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1855-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
An overview of the SPARC Data Initiative is presented, to date the most comprehensive assessment of stratospheric composition measurements spanning 1979–2018. Measurements of 26 chemical constituents obtained from an international suite of space-based limb sounders were compiled into vertically resolved, zonal monthly mean time series. The quality and consistency of these gridded datasets are then evaluated using a climatological validation approach and a range of diagnostics.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
James Keeble, Birgit Hassler, Antara Banerjee, Ramiro Checa-Garcia, Gabriel Chiodo, Sean Davis, Veronika Eyring, Paul T. Griffiths, Olaf Morgenstern, Peer Nowack, Guang Zeng, Jiankai Zhang, Greg Bodeker, Susannah Burrows, Philip Cameron-Smith, David Cugnet, Christopher Danek, Makoto Deushi, Larry W. Horowitz, Anne Kubin, Lijuan Li, Gerrit Lohmann, Martine Michou, Michael J. Mills, Pierre Nabat, Dirk Olivié, Sungsu Park, Øyvind Seland, Jens Stoll, Karl-Hermann Wieners, and Tongwen Wu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5015–5061, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5015-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5015-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Stratospheric ozone and water vapour are key components of the Earth system; changes to both have important impacts on global and regional climate. We evaluate changes to these species from 1850 to 2100 in the new generation of CMIP6 models. There is good agreement between the multi-model mean and observations, although there is substantial variation between the individual models. The future evolution of both ozone and water vapour is strongly dependent on the assumed future emissions scenario.
Josefine Maas, Susann Tegtmeier, Yue Jia, Birgit Quack, Jonathan V. Durgadoo, and Arne Biastoch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4103–4121, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4103-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4103-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Cooling-water disinfection at coastal power plants is a known source of atmospheric bromoform. A large source of anthropogenic bromoform is the industrial regions in East Asia. In current bottom-up flux estimates, these anthropogenic emissions are missing, underestimating the global air–sea flux of bromoform. With transport simulations, we show that by including anthropogenic bromoform from cooling-water treatment, the bottom-up flux estimates significantly improve in East and Southeast Asia.
Chaim I. Garfinkel, Ohad Harari, Shlomi Ziskin Ziv, Jian Rao, Olaf Morgenstern, Guang Zeng, Simone Tilmes, Douglas Kinnison, Fiona M. O'Connor, Neal Butchart, Makoto Deushi, Patrick Jöckel, Andrea Pozzer, and Sean Davis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3725–3740, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3725-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3725-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Water vapor is the dominant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, and El Niño is the dominant mode of variability in the ocean–atmosphere system. The connection between El Niño and water vapor above ~ 17 km is unclear, with single-model studies reaching a range of conclusions. This study examines this connection in 12 different models. While there are substantial differences among the models, all models appear to capture the fundamental physical processes correctly.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Stephanie Evan, Jerome Brioude, Karen Rosenlof, Sean M. Davis, Holger Vömel, Damien Héron, Françoise Posny, Jean-Marc Metzger, Valentin Duflot, Guillaume Payen, Hélène Vérèmes, Philippe Keckhut, and Jean-Pierre Cammas
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10565–10586, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10565-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10565-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The role of deep convection in the southwest Indian Ocean (the 3rd most active tropical cyclone basin) on the composition of the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) and the climate system is less understood due to scarce observations. Balloon-borne lidar and satellite measurements in the southwest Indian Ocean were used to study tropical cyclones' influence on TTL composition. This study compares the impact of a tropical storm and cyclone on the humidification of the TTL over the SW Indian Ocean.
Cited articles
Anthes, R. A., Bernhardt, P. A., Chen, Y., Cucurull, L., Dymond, K. F., Ector, D., Healy, S. B., Ho, S.-P., Hunt, D. C., Kuo, Y.-H., Liu, H., Manning, K., McCormick, C., Meehan, T. K., Randel, W. J., Rocken, C., Schreiner, W. S., Sokolovskiy, S. V., Syndergaard, S., Thompson, D. C., Trenberth, K. E., Wee, T.-K., Yen, N. L., and Zeng, Z.: The COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 Mission: Early Results, B. Am. Meteor. Soc., 89, 313–334, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-89-3-313, 2008.
Baldwin, M. P., Gray, L. J., Dunkerton, T. J., Hamilton, K., Haynes, P. H., Randel, W. J., Holton, J. R., Alexander, M. J., Hirota, I., Horinouchi, T., Jones, D. B. A., Kinnersley, J. S., Marquardt, C., Sato, K., and Takahashi, M.: The quasi-biennial oscillation, Rev. Geophys., 39, 179–229, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999RG000073, 2001.
Beyerle, G., Schmidt, T., Michalak, G., Heise, S., Wickert, J., and Reigber, C.: GPS radio occultation with GRACE: Atmospheric profiling utilizing the zero difference technique, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, 2005GL023109, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL023109, 2005.
Beyerle, G., Grunwaldt, L., Heise, S., Köhler, W., König, R., Michalak, G., Rothacher, M., Schmidt, T., Wickert, J., Tapley, B. D., and Giesinger, B.: First results from the GPS atmosphere sounding experiment TOR aboard the TerraSAR-X satellite, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 6687–6699, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-6687-2011, 2011.
Bowler, N. E.: An initial assessment of the quality of RO data from KOMPSAT-5, GRAS SAF Rep, 32, 18, 2018.
CDAAC: GNSS Radio Occultation Datasets – Metop-A, COSMIC Data Analysis and Archive Center [data set], https://cdaac-www.cosmic.ucar.edu/cdaac/products.html (last access: 19 June 2024), 2023.
Collimore, C. C., Martin, D. W., Hitchman, M. H., Huesmann, A., and Waliser, D. E.: On the relationship between the QBO and tropical deep convection, J. Climate, 16, 2552–2568, 2003.
Davis, S. M., Rosenlof, K. H., Hassler, B., Hurst, D. F., Read, W. G., Vömel, H., Selkirk, H., Fujiwara, M., and Damadeo, R.: The Stratospheric Water and Ozone Satellite Homogenized (SWOOSH) database: a long-term database for climate studies, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 8, 461–490, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-461-2016, 2016 (data available: https://csl.noaa.gov/swoosh/, last access: 19 June 2024).
De F. Forster, P. M. and Shine, K. P.: Stratospheric water vapour changes as a possible contributor to observed stratospheric cooling, Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 3309–3312, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GL010487, 1999.
Folkins, I., Loewenstein, M., Podolske, J., Oltmans, S. J., and Proffitt, M.: A barrier to vertical mixing at 14 km in the tropics: Evidence from ozonesondes and aircraft measurements, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 104, 22095–22102, 1999.
Free, M. and Lanzante, J.: Effect of Volcanic Eruptions on the Vertical Temperature Profile in Radiosonde Data and Climate Models, J. Climate, 22, 2925–2939, https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JCLI2562.1, 2009.
Fu, Q., Lin, P., Solomon, S., and Hartmann, D. L.: Observational evidence of strengthening of the Brewer-Dobson circulation since 1980, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 120, 10214–10228, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD023657, 2015.
Fu, Q., Solomon, S., Pahlavan, H. A., and Lin, P.: Observed changes in Brewer–Dobson circulation for 1980–2018, Environ. Res. Lett., 14, 114026, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab4de7, 2019.
Fueglistaler, S., Dessler, A. E., Dunkerton, T. J., Folkins, I., Fu, Q., and Mote, P. W.: Tropical tropopause layer, Rev. Geophys., 47, 2008RG000267, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008RG000267, 2009.
Fueglistaler, S., Haynes, P. H., and Forster, P. M.: The annual cycle in lower stratospheric temperatures revisited, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 3701–3711, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-3701-2011, 2011.
Fujiwara, M., Hibino, T., Mehta, S. K., Gray, L., Mitchell, D., and Anstey, J.: Global temperature response to the major volcanic eruptions in multiple reanalysis data sets, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13507–13518, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13507-2015, 2015.
Garfinkel, C. I., Waugh, D. W., Oman, L. D., Wang, L., and Hurwitz, M. M.: Temperature trends in the tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere: Connections with sea surface temperatures and implications for water vapor and ozone, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 118, 9658–9672, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50772, 2013.
Gettelman, A., Randel, W. J., Massie, S., Wu, F., Read, W. G., and Russell, J. M.: El Nino as a natural experiment for studying the tropical tropopause region, J. Climate, 14, 3375–3392, 2001.
Godin-Beekmann, S., Azouz, N., Sofieva, V. F., Hubert, D., Petropavlovskikh, I., Effertz, P., Ancellet, G., Degenstein, D. A., Zawada, D., Froidevaux, L., Frith, S., Wild, J., Davis, S., Steinbrecht, W., Leblanc, T., Querel, R., Tourpali, K., Damadeo, R., Maillard Barras, E., Stübi, R., Vigouroux, C., Arosio, C., Nedoluha, G., Boyd, I., Van Malderen, R., Mahieu, E., Smale, D., and Sussmann, R.: Updated trends of the stratospheric ozone vertical distribution in the 60° S–60° N latitude range based on the LOTUS regression model, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11657–11673, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11657-2022, 2022.
Gorbunov, M. E., Benzon, H.-H., Jensen, A. S., Lohmann, M. S., and Nielsen, A. S.: Comparative analysis of radio occultation processing approaches based on Fourier integral operators, Radio Sci., 39, RS6004, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003RS002916, 2004.
Grise, K. M. and Thompson, D. W. J.: On the Signatures of Equatorial and Extratropical Wave Forcing in Tropical Tropopause Layer Temperatures, J. Atmos. Sci., 70, 1084–1102, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-12-0163.1, 2013.
Haenel, F. J., Stiller, G. P., von Clarmann, T., Funke, B., Eckert, E., Glatthor, N., Grabowski, U., Kellmann, S., Kiefer, M., Linden, A., and Reddmann, T.: Reassessment of MIPAS age of air trends and variability, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13161–13176, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13161-2015, 2015.
Hajj, G. A., Ao, C. O., Iijima, B. A., Kuang, D., Kursinski, E. R., Mannucci, A. J., Meehan, T. K., Romans, L. J., De La Torre Juarez, M., and Yunck, T. P.: CHAMP and SAC-C atmospheric occultation results and intercomparisons, J. Geophys. Res., 109, 2003JD003909, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD003909, 2004.
Harrop, B. E. and Hartmann, D. L.: Testing the Role of Radiation in Determining Tropical Cloud-Top Temperature, J. Climate, 25, 5731–5747, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00445.1, 2012.
Hartmann, D. L. and Larson, K.: An important constraint on tropical cloud – climate feedback, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29, 1951, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL015835, 2002.
Highwood, E. J. and Hoskins, B. J.: The tropical tropopause, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 124, 1579–1604, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49712454911, 1998.
Holloway, C. E. and Neelin, J. D.: The Convective Cold Top and Quasi Equilibrium*, J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 1467–1487, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS3907.1, 2007.
Holton, J. R. and Gettelman, A.: Horizontal transport and the dehydration of the stratosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 2799–2802, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GL013148, 2001.
Hu, D., Tian, W., Xie, F., Shu, J., and Dhomse, S.: Effects of meridional sea surface temperature changes on stratospheric temperature and circulation, Adv. Atmos. Sci., 31, 888–900, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-013-3152-6, 2014.
Hu, D., Tian, W., Guan, Z., Guo, Y., and Dhomse, S.: Longitudinal Asymmetric Trends of Tropical Cold-Point Tropopause Temperature and Their Link to Strengthened Walker Circulation, J. Climate, 29, 7755–7771, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0851.1, 2016.
Keil, P., Schmidt, H., Stevens, B., Byrne, M. P., Segura, H., and Putrasahan, D.: Tropical tropospheric warming pattern explained by shifts in convective heating in the Matsuno–Gill model, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 149, 2678–2695, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4526, 2023.
Kim, J., Grise, K. M., and Son, S.-W.: Thermal characteristics of the cold-point tropopause region in CMIP5 models, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 118, 8827–8841, 2013.
Konopka, P., Tao, M., Ploeger, F., Hurst, D. F., Santee, M. L., Wright, J. S., and Riese, M.: Stratospheric Moistening After 2000, Geophys. Res. Lett., 49, e2021GL097609, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097609, 2022.
Krüger, K., Tegtmeier, S., and Rex, M.: Long-term climatology of air mass transport through the Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL) during NH winter, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 813–823, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-813-2008, 2008.
Kuang, Z. and Bretherton, C. S.: Convective Influence on the Heat Balance of the Tropical Tropopause Layer: A Cloud-Resolving Model Study, J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 2919–2927, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-3306.1, 2004.
Kursinski, E. R., Hajj, G. A., Schofield, J. T., Linfield, R. P., and Hardy, K. R.: Observing Earth's atmosphere with radio occultation measurements using the Global Positioning System, J. Geophys. Res., 102, 23429–23465, https://doi.org/10.1029/97JD01569, 1997.
Ladstädter, F., Steiner, A. K., and Gleisner, H.: Resolving the 21st century temperature trends of the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere with satellite observations, Sci. Rep., 13, 1306, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-28222-x, 2023.
Li, Y., Yang, S., Deng, Y., Hu, X., Cai, M., and Zhou, W.: Detection and attribution of upper-tropospheric warming over the tropical western Pacific, Clim. Dynam., 53, 3057–3068, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-04681-9, 2019.
Liess, S. and Geller, M. A.: On the relationship between QBO and distribution of tropical deep convection, J. Geophys. Res., 117, 2011JD016317, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016317, 2012.
Lin, J. and Emanuel, K.: Tropospheric Thermal Forcing of the Stratosphere through Quasi-Balanced Dynamics, J. Atmos. Sci., 81, 561–582, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-23-0081.1, 2024.
Lin, P., Paynter, D., Ming, Y., and Ramaswamy, V.: Changes of the Tropical Tropopause Layer under Global Warming, J. Climate, 30, 1245–1258, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0457.1, 2017.
Livesey, N. J., Read, W. G., Froidevaux, L., Lambert, A., Santee, M. L., Schwartz, M. J., Millán, L. F., Jarnot, R. F., Wagner, P. A., Hurst, D. F., Walker, K. A., Sheese, P. E., and Nedoluha, G. E.: Investigation and amelioration of long-term instrumental drifts in water vapor and nitrous oxide measurements from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and their implications for studies of variability and trends, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15409–15430, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15409-2021, 2021.
Livesey, N. J., Read, W. G., Wagner, P. A., Froidevaux, L., Santee, M. L., Schwartz, M. J., Lambert, A., Valle, L. F. M., Pumphrey, H. C., Manney, G. L., Fuller, R. A., Jarnot, R. F., Knosp, B. W., and Lay, R. R.: Version 5.0x Level 2 and 3 data quality and description document., Tech. Rep. JPL D-105336 Rev. B, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91109-8099, available at: https://mls.jpl.nasa.gov/eos-aura-mls/documentation.php (last access: 19 June 2024), 2022 (data available at: https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov, last access: 19 June 2024).
Long, C. S., Fujiwara, M., Davis, S., Mitchell, D. M., and Wright, C. J.: Climatology and interannual variability of dynamic variables in multiple reanalyses evaluated by the SPARC Reanalysis Intercomparison Project (S-RIP), Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 14593–14629, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14593-2017, 2017.
Maycock, A. C., Randel, W. J., Steiner, A. K., Karpechko, A. Y., Christy, J., Saunders, R., Thompson, D. W. J., Zou, C., Chrysanthou, A., Luke Abraham, N., Akiyoshi, H., Archibald, A. T., Butchart, N., Chipperfield, M., Dameris, M., Deushi, M., Dhomse, S., Di Genova, G., Jöckel, P., Kinnison, D. E., Kirner, O., Ladstädter, F., Michou, M., Morgenstern, O., O'Connor, F., Oman, L., Pitari, G., Plummer, D. A., Revell, L. E., Rozanov, E., Stenke, A., Visioni, D., Yamashita, Y., and Zeng, G.: Revisiting the Mystery of Recent Stratospheric Temperature Trends, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45, 9919–9933, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL078035, 2018.
Millán, L., Santee, M. L., Lambert, A., Livesey, N. J., Werner, F., Schwartz, M. J., Pumphrey, H. C., Manney, G. L., Wang, Y., Su, H., Wu, L., Read, W. G., and Froidevaux, L.: The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Hydration of the Stratosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 49, e2022GL099381, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099381, 2022.
Mote, P. W., Rosenlof, K. H., McIntyre, M. E., Carr, E. S., Gille, J. C., Holton, J. R., Kinnersley, J. S., Pumphrey, H. C., Russell, J. M., and Waters, J. W.: An atmospheric tape recorder: The imprint of tropical tropopause temperatures on stratospheric water vapor, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 3989–4006, https://doi.org/10.1029/95JD03422, 1996.
Naujokat, B.: An update of the observed quasi-biennial oscillation of the stratospheric winds over the tropics, J. Atmos. Sci., 43, 1873–1877, 1986.
Nishimoto, E. and Shiotani, M.: Seasonal and interannual variability in the temperature structure around the tropical tropopause and its relationship with convective activities, J. Geophys. Res., 117, 2011JD016936, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016936, 2012.
Plumb, R. A. and Bell, R. C.: Equatorial waves in steady zonal shear flow, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 108, 313–334, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49710845603, 1982.
Randel, W. and Park, M.: Diagnosing Observed Stratospheric Water Vapor Relationships to the Cold Point Tropical Tropopause, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 124, 7018–7033, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD030648, 2019.
Randel, W. J. and Jensen, E. J.: Physical processes in the tropical tropopause layer and their roles in a changing climate, Nat. Geosci., 6, 169–176, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1733, 2013.
Randel, W. J. and Wu, F.: Variability of Zonal Mean Tropical Temperatures Derived from a Decade of GPS Radio Occultation Data, J. Atmos. Sci., 72, 1261–1275, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-14-0216.1, 2015.
Randel, W. J., Wu, F., Oltmans, S. J., Rosenlof, K., and Nedoluha, G. E.: Interannual changes of stratospheric water vapor and correlations with tropical tropopause temperatures, J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 2133–2148, 2004.
Randel, W. J., Wu, F., Vömel, H., Nedoluha, G. E., and Forster, P.: Decreases in stratospheric water vapor after 2001: Links to changes in the tropical tropopause and the Brewer-Dobson circulation, J. Geophys. Res., 111, 2005JD006744, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006744, 2006.
Randel, W. J., Polvani, L., Wu, F., Kinnison, D. E., Zou, C., and Mears, C.: Troposphere-Stratosphere Temperature Trends Derived From Satellite Data Compared With Ensemble Simulations From WACCM, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 122, 9651–9667, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027158, 2017.
Riese, M., Ploeger, F., Rap, A., Vogel, B., Konopka, P., Dameris, M., and Forster, P.: Impact of uncertainties in atmospheric mixing on simulated UTLS composition and related radiative effects, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 117, D16305, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JD017751, 2012.
Rosenlof, K. H. and Reid, G. C.: Trends in the temperature and water vapor content of the tropical lower stratosphere: Sea surface connection, J. Geophys. Res., 113, 2007JD009109, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009109, 2008.
Santer, B. D., Wigley, T. M. L., Mears, C., Wentz, F. J., Klein, S. A., Seidel, D. J., Taylor, K. E., Thorne, P. W., Wehner, M. F., Gleckler, P. J., Boyle, J. S., Collins, W. D., Dixon, K. W., Doutriaux, C., Free, M., Fu, Q., Hansen, J. E., Jones, G. S., Ruedy, R., Karl, T. R., Lanzante, J. R., Meehl, G. A., Ramaswamy, V., Russell, G., and Schmidt, G. A.: Amplification of Surface Temperature Trends and Variability in the Tropical Atmosphere, Science, 309, 1551–1556, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1114867, 2005.
Sassen, K., Wang, Z., and Liu, D.: Cirrus clouds and deep convection in the tropics: Insights from CALIPSO and CloudSat, J. Geophys. Res., 114, 2009JD011916, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD011916, 2009.
Seidel, D. J. and Randel, W. J.: Variability and trends in the global tropopause estimated from radiosonde data, J. Geophys. Res., 111, 2006JD007363, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD007363, 2006.
Smith, C. A., Haigh, J. D., and Toumi, R.: Radiative forcing due to trends in stratospheric water vapour, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 179–182, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000GL011846, 2001.
Song, X., Zhang, G. J., and Cai, M.: Quantifying contributions of climate feedbacks to tropospheric warming in the NCAR CCSM3.0, Clim. Dynam., 42, 901–917, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-013-1805-x, 2014.
Steiner, A. K., Ladstädter, F., Randel, W. J., Maycock, A. C., Fu, Q., Claud, C., Gleisner, H., Haimberger, L., Ho, S.-P., Keckhut, P., Leblanc, T., Mears, C., Polvani, L. M., Santer, B. D., Schmidt, T., Sofieva, V., Wing, R., and Zou, C.-Z.: Observed Temperature Changes in the Troposphere and Stratosphere from 1979 to 2018, J. Climate, 33, 8165–8194, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0998.1, 2020.
Tao, M., Konopka, P., Wright, J. S., Liu, Y., Bian, J., Davis, S. M., Jia, Y., and Ploeger, F.: Multi-decadal variability controls short-term stratospheric water vapor trends, Commun. Earth Environ., 4, 441, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01094-9, 2023.
Tegtmeier, S., Anstey, J., Davis, S., Dragani, R., Harada, Y., Ivanciu, I., Pilch Kedzierski, R., Krüger, K., Legras, B., Long, C., Wang, J. S., Wargan, K., and Wright, J. S.: Temperature and tropopause characteristics from reanalyses data in the tropical tropopause layer, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 753–770, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-753-2020, 2020a.
Tegtmeier, S., Anstey, J., Davis, S., Ivanciu, I., Jia, Y., McPhee, D., and Pilch Kedzierski, R.: Zonal Asymmetry of the QBO Temperature Signal in the Tropical Tropopause Region, Geophys. Res. Lett., 47, e2020GL089533, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL089533, 2020b.
Thomason, L. W., Ernest, N., Millán, L., Rieger, L., Bourassa, A., Vernier, J.-P., Manney, G., Luo, B., Arfeuille, F., and Peter, T.: A global space-based stratospheric aerosol climatology: 1979–2016, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 469–492, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-469-2018, 2018.
Thompson, A. M., Stauffer, R. M., Wargan, K., Witte, J. C., Kollonige, D. E., and Ziemke, J. R.: Regional and Seasonal Trends in Tropical Ozone From SHADOZ Profiles: Reference for Models and Satellite Products, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 126, e2021JD034691, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD034691, 2021.
Vergados, P., Ao, C. O., Mannucci, A. J., and Kursinski, E. R.: Quantifying the Tropical Upper Tropospheric Warming Amplification Using Radio Occultation Measurements, Earth Space Sci., 8, e2020EA001597, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EA001597, 2021.
Vogel, B., Feck, T., and Grooß, J.-U.: Impact of stratospheric water vapor enhancements caused by CH4 and H2O increase on polar ozone loss, J. Geophys. Res., 116, D05301, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD014234, 2011.
Vömel, H., Evan, S., and Tully, M.: Water vapor injection into the stratosphere by Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, Science, 377, 1444–1447, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abq2299, 2022.
Von Engeln, A., Andres, Y., Marquardt, C., and Sancho, F.: GRAS radio occultation on-board of Metop, Adv. Space Res., 47, 336–347, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2010.07.028, 2011.
Wallace, J. M., Panetta, R. L., and Estberg, J.: Representation of the equatorial stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation in EOF phase space, J. Atmos. Sci., 50, 1751–1762, 1993.
Wang, J. S., Seidel, D. J., and Free, M.: How well do we know recent climate trends at the tropical tropopause?, J. Geophys. Res., 117, 2012JD017444, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JD017444, 2012.
Wang, P., Minnis, P., McCormick, M. P., Kent, G. S., and Skeens, K. M.: A 6-year climatology of cloud occurrence frequency from Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II observations (1985–1990), J. Geophys. Res., 101, 29407–29429, https://doi.org/10.1029/96JD01780, 1996.
Wang, W., Matthes, K., Schmidt, T., and Neef, L.: Recent variability of the tropical tropopause inversion layer, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 6308–6313, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL058350, 2013.
Waters, J. W., Froidevaux, L., Harwood, R. S., Jarnot, R. F., Pickett, H. M., Read, W. G., Siegel, P. H., Cofield, R. E., Filipiak, M. J., Flower, D. A., Holden, J. R., Lau, G. K., Livesey, N. J., Manney, G. L., Pumphrey, H. C., Santee, M. L., Wu, D. L., Cuddy, D. T., Lay, R. R., Loo, M. S., Perun, V. S., Schwartz, M. J., Stek, P. C., Thurstans, R. P., Boyles, M. A., Chandra, K. M., Chavez, M. C., Gun-Shing Chen, Chudasama, B. V., Dodge, R., Fuller, R. A., Girard, M. A., Jiang, J. H., Yibo Jiang, Knosp, B. W., LaBelle, R. C., Lam, J. C., Lee, K. A., Miller, D., Oswald, J. E., Patel, N. C., Pukala, D. M., Quintero, O., Scaff, D. M., Van Snyder, W., Tope, M. C., Wagner, P. A., and Walch, M. J.: The Earth observing system microwave limb sounder (EOS MLS) on the aura Satellite, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 44, 1075–1092, https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2006.873771, 2006.
Wickert, J., Reigber, C., Beyerle, G., König, R., Marquardt, C., Schmidt, T., Grunwaldt, L., Galas, R., Meehan, T. K., Melbourne, W. G., and Hocke, K.: Atmosphere sounding by GPS radio occultation: First results from CHAMP, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 3263–3266, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GL013117, 2001.
Xie, F., Tian, W., and Chipperfield, M. P.: Radiative effect of ozone change on stratosphere-troposphere exchange, J. Geophys. Res., 113, 2008JD009829, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD009829, 2008.
Xie, F., Li, J., Tian, W., Li, Y., and Feng, J.: Indo-Pacific Warm Pool Area Expansion, Modoki Activity and Tropical Cold-Point Tropopause Temperature Variations, Sci. Rep., 4, 4552, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep04552, 2014.
Yulaeva, E. and Wallace, J. M.: The signature of ENSO in global temperature and precipitation fields derived from the microwave sounding unit, J. Climate, 7, 1719–1736, 1994.
Short summary
Satellite data challenge the idea of an overall cooling trend in the tropical tropopause layer. From 2002 to 2022, a warming trend was observed, diverging from earlier findings. Tropopause height changes indicate dynamic processes alongside radiative effects. Upper-tropospheric warming contrasts with lower-stratosphere temperatures. The study highlights the complex interplay of factors shaping temperature trends.
Satellite data challenge the idea of an overall cooling trend in the tropical tropopause layer....
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint