Articles | Volume 24, issue 13
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7873-2024
© 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-24-7873-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Climatology of the terms and variables of transformed Eulerian-mean (TEM) equations from multiple reanalyses: MERRA-2, JRA-55, ERA-Interim, and CFSR
Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan
Patrick Martineau
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokohama, 236-0001, Japan
Jonathon S. Wright
Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
Marta Abalos
Department of Earth Physics and Astrophysics, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28040, Spain
Petr Šácha
Department of Atmospheric Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, 180 00, Czech Republic
Yoshio Kawatani
Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokohama, 236-0001, Japan
Sean M. Davis
NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, CO, 80305, USA
Thomas Birner
Meteorological Institute, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Beatriz M. Monge-Sanz
Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
National Centre for Atmospheric Science, OX1 3PU, Oxford, United Kingdom
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We assess and illustrate the benefits of high-altitude attainment of balloon-borne radiosonde soundings up to and beyond 10 hPa level from various aspects. We show that the extra costs and technical challenges involved in consistent attainment of high ascents are more than outweighed by the benefits for a broad variety of real-time and delayed-mode applications. Consistent attainment of high ascents should therefore be pursued across the balloon observational network.
Simone Brunamonti, Harald Saathoff, Albert Hertzog, Glenn Diskin, Masatomo Fujiwara, Karen Rosenlof, Ottmar Möhler, Béla Tuzson, Lukas Emmenegger, Nadir Amarouche, Georges Durry, Fabien Frérot, Jean-Christophe Samake, Claire Cenac, Julio Lopez, Paul Monnier, and Mélanie Ghysels
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1029, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1029, 2025
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Water vapor is a strong greenhouse gas and accurate measurements of its concentration in the upper atmosphere (~8–25 km altitude) are crucial for reliable climate predictions. We investigated the performance of four airborne hygrometers, deployed on aircraft or stratospheric balloon platforms and based on different techniques, in a climate simulation chamber. The results demonstrate the high accuracy and reliability of the involved sensors for atmospheric monitoring and research applications.
Yugo Kanaya, Roberto Sommariva, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Andrea Mazzeo, Theodore K. Koenig, Kaori Kawana, James E. Johnson, Aurélie Colomb, Pierre Tulet, Suzie Molloy, Ian E. Galbally, Rainer Volkamer, Anoop Mahajan, John W. Halfacre, Paul B. Shepson, Julia Schmale, Hélène Angot, Byron Blomquist, Matthew D. Shupe, Detlev Helmig, Junsu Gil, Meehye Lee, Sean C. Coburn, Ivan Ortega, Gao Chen, James Lee, Kenneth C. Aikin, David D. Parrish, John S. Holloway, Thomas B. Ryerson, Ilana B. Pollack, Eric J. Williams, Brian M. Lerner, Andrew J. Weinheimer, Teresa Campos, Frank M. Flocke, J. Ryan Spackman, Ilann Bourgeois, Jeff Peischl, Chelsea R. Thompson, Ralf M. Staebler, Amir A. Aliabadi, Wanmin Gong, Roeland Van Malderen, Anne M. Thompson, Ryan M. Stauffer, Debra E. Kollonige, Juan Carlos Gómez Martin, Masatomo Fujiwara, Katie Read, Matthew Rowlinson, Keiichi Sato, Junichi Kurokawa, Yoko Iwamoto, Fumikazu Taketani, Hisahiro Takashima, Monica Navarro Comas, Marios Panagi, and Martin G. Schultz
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-566, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-566, 2025
Revised manuscript accepted for ESSD
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The first comprehensive dataset of tropospheric ozone over oceans/polar regions is presented, including 77 ship/buoy and 48 aircraft campaign observations (1977–2022, 0–5000 m altitude), supplemented by ozonesonde and surface data. Air masses isolated from land for 72+ hours are systematically selected as essentially oceanic. Among the 11 global regions, they show daytime decreases of 10–16% in the tropics, while near-zero depletions are rare, unlike in the Arctic, implying different mechanisms.
Takuji Sugidachi, Masatomo Fujiwara, Kensaku Shimizu, Shin-Ya Ogino, Junko Suzuki, and Ruud J. Dirksen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 509–531, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-509-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-509-2025, 2025
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A Peltier-based chilled-mirror hygrometer, SKYDEW, has been developed to measure tropospheric and stratospheric water vapor. Continuous accurate measurements of water vapor are essential for climate monitoring. More than 40 soundings with SKYDEW have been conducted since 2011 to evaluate the performance. The result of soundings at tropical and midlatitudes demonstrated that SKYDEW is able to measure up to an altitude of 20–25 km for daytime soundings and above 25 km for nighttime soundings.
Shunsuke Hoshino, Takuji Sugidachi, Kensaku Shimizu, Eriko Kobayashi, Masatomo Fujiwara, and Masami Iwabuchi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5917–5948, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5917-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5917-2022, 2022
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GRUAN data products (GDPs) from Meisei iMS-100 and Vaisala RS92 were compared with 59 dual sounding data. For daytime observations, the iMS-100 temperature is around 0.5 K lower than RS92-GDP in the stratosphere, but for nighttime observations, the difference is around −0.1 K, and data are mostly in agreement. For relative humidity (RH), iMS-100 is around 1–2 % RH higher in the troposphere and 1 % RH smaller in the stratosphere than RS92, but both GDPs are in agreement for most of the profile.
Varaha Ravi Kiran, Madineni Venkat Ratnam, Masatomo Fujiwara, Herman Russchenberg, Frank G. Wienhold, Bomidi Lakshmi Madhavan, Mekalathur Roja Raman, Renju Nandan, Sivan Thankamani Akhil Raj, Alladi Hemanth Kumar, and Saginela Ravindra Babu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4709–4734, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4709-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4709-2022, 2022
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We proposed and conducted the multi-instrumental BACIS (Balloon-borne Aerosol–Cloud Interaction Studies) field campaigns using balloon-borne in situ measurements and ground-based and space-borne remote sensing instruments. Aerosol-cloud interaction is quantified for liquid clouds by segregating aerosol and cloud information in a balloon profile. Overall, the observational approach proposed here demonstrated its capability for understanding the aerosol–cloud interaction process.
Masatomo Fujiwara, Tetsu Sakai, Tomohiro Nagai, Koichi Shiraishi, Yoichi Inai, Sergey Khaykin, Haosen Xi, Takashi Shibata, Masato Shiotani, and Laura L. Pan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3073–3090, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3073-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3073-2021, 2021
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Lidar aerosol particle measurements in Japan during the summer of 2018 were found to detect the eastward extension of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer from the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone in the lower stratosphere. Analysis of various other data indicates that the observed enhanced particle levels are due to eastward-shedding vortices from the anticyclone, originating from pollutants emitted in Asian countries and transported vertically by convection in the Asian summer monsoon region.
Jonathon S. Wright, Shenglong Zhang, Jiao Chen, Sean M. Davis, Paul Konopka, Mengqian Lu, Xiaolu Yan, and Guang J. Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 9617–9643, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9617-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9617-2025, 2025
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Atmospheric reanalysis products reconstruct 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.
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).
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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.
Beth Dingley, James A. Anstey, Marta Abalos, Carsten Abraham, Tommi Bergman, Lisa Bock, Sonya Fiddes, Birgit Hassler, Ryan J. Kramer, Fei Luo, Fiona M. O'Connor, Petr Šácha, Isla R. Simpson, Laura J. Wilcox, and Mark D. Zelinka
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3189, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3189, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
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This manuscript defines as a list of variables and scientific opportunities which are requested from the CMIP7 Assessment Fast Track to address open atmospheric science questions. The list reflects the output of a large public community engagement effort, coordinated across autumn 2025 through to summer 2025.
Masatomo Fujiwara, Bomin Sun, Anthony Reale, Domenico Cimini, Salvatore Larosa, Lori Borg, Christoph von Rohden, Michael Sommer, Ruud Dirksen, Marion Maturilli, Holger Vömel, Rigel Kivi, Bruce Ingleby, Ryan J. Kramer, Belay Demoz, Fabio Madonna, Fabien Carminati, Owen Lewis, Brett Candy, Christopher Thomas, David Edwards, Noersomadi, Kensaku Shimizu, and Peter Thorne
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2919–2955, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2919-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2919-2025, 2025
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We assess and illustrate the benefits of high-altitude attainment of balloon-borne radiosonde soundings up to and beyond 10 hPa level from various aspects. We show that the extra costs and technical challenges involved in consistent attainment of high ascents are more than outweighed by the benefits for a broad variety of real-time and delayed-mode applications. Consistent attainment of high ascents should therefore be pursued across the balloon observational network.
Clara Orbe, Alison Ming, Gabriel Chiodo, Michael Prather, Mohamadou Diallo, Qi Tang, Andreas Chrysanthou, Hiroaki Naoe, Xin Zhou, Irina Thaler, Dillon Elsbury, Ewa Bednarz, Jonathon S. Wright, Aaron Match, Shingo Watanabe, James Anstey, Tobias Kerzenmacher, Stefan Versick, Marion Marchand, Feng Li, and James Keeble
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2761, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2761, 2025
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The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) is the main source of wind fluctuations in the tropical stratosphere, which can couple to surface climate. However, models do a poor job of simulating the QBO in the lower stratosphere, for reasons that remain unclear. One possibility is that models do not completely represent how ozone influences the QBO-associated wind variations. Here we propose a multi-model framework for assessing how ozone influences the QBO in recent past and future climates.
Frederik Harzer, Hella Garny, Felix Ploeger, J. Moritz Menken, and Thomas Birner
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2195, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2195, 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.
Jie Gao, Yi Huang, Jonathon S. Wright, Ke Li, Tao Geng, and Qiurun Yu
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 2569–2586, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-2569-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-2569-2025, 2025
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The aerosol in the upper troposphere and stratosphere is highly variable, and its radiative effect is poorly understood. To estimate this effect, the radiative kernel is constructed and applied. The results show that the kernels can reproduce aerosol radiative effects and are expected to simulate stratospheric aerosol radiative effects. This approach reduces computational expense, is consistent with radiative model calculations, and can be applied to atmospheric models with speed requirements.
Simone Brunamonti, Harald Saathoff, Albert Hertzog, Glenn Diskin, Masatomo Fujiwara, Karen Rosenlof, Ottmar Möhler, Béla Tuzson, Lukas Emmenegger, Nadir Amarouche, Georges Durry, Fabien Frérot, Jean-Christophe Samake, Claire Cenac, Julio Lopez, Paul Monnier, and Mélanie Ghysels
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1029, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1029, 2025
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Water vapor is a strong greenhouse gas and accurate measurements of its concentration in the upper atmosphere (~8–25 km altitude) are crucial for reliable climate predictions. We investigated the performance of four airborne hygrometers, deployed on aircraft or stratospheric balloon platforms and based on different techniques, in a climate simulation chamber. The results demonstrate the high accuracy and reliability of the involved sensors for atmospheric monitoring and research applications.
Hiroaki Naoe, Jorge L. Garcia-Franco, Chang-Hyun Park, Mario Rodrigo, Froila M. Palmeiro, Federico Serva, Masakazu Taguchi, Kohei Yoshida, James A. Anstey, Javier Garcia-Serrano, Seok-Woo Son, Yoshio Kawatani, Neal Butchart, Kevin Hamilton, Chih-Chieh Chen, Anne Glanville, Tobias Kerzenmacher, Francois Lott, Clara Orbe, Scott Osprey, Mijeong Park, Jadwiga H. Richter, Stefan Versick, and Shingo Watanabe
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1148, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1148, 2025
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This study examines links between the stratospheric Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) and large-scale atmospheric circulations in the tropics, subtropics, and polar regions. The QBO teleconnections and their modulation by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are investigated through a series of climate model experiments. While QBO teleconnections are qualitatively reproduced by the multi-model ensemble, they are not consistent due to modelled QBO bias and other systematic model biases.
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
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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.
Zuzana Procházková, Radek Zajíček, and Petr Šácha
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-939, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-939, 2025
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In the presented work, we compute and analyze resolved gravity wave drag in ERA 5 reanalysis. Studying gravity waves in a realistic dataset helps us to understand them better and potentially improve climate projections. Part of our results supports a key hypothesis governing vertical distribution of parameterized gravity wave drag in climate models, however, we also provide evidence for a strong influence of horizontal wave propagation, a mechanism that is currently missing in the models.
Yugo Kanaya, Roberto Sommariva, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Andrea Mazzeo, Theodore K. Koenig, Kaori Kawana, James E. Johnson, Aurélie Colomb, Pierre Tulet, Suzie Molloy, Ian E. Galbally, Rainer Volkamer, Anoop Mahajan, John W. Halfacre, Paul B. Shepson, Julia Schmale, Hélène Angot, Byron Blomquist, Matthew D. Shupe, Detlev Helmig, Junsu Gil, Meehye Lee, Sean C. Coburn, Ivan Ortega, Gao Chen, James Lee, Kenneth C. Aikin, David D. Parrish, John S. Holloway, Thomas B. Ryerson, Ilana B. Pollack, Eric J. Williams, Brian M. Lerner, Andrew J. Weinheimer, Teresa Campos, Frank M. Flocke, J. Ryan Spackman, Ilann Bourgeois, Jeff Peischl, Chelsea R. Thompson, Ralf M. Staebler, Amir A. Aliabadi, Wanmin Gong, Roeland Van Malderen, Anne M. Thompson, Ryan M. Stauffer, Debra E. Kollonige, Juan Carlos Gómez Martin, Masatomo Fujiwara, Katie Read, Matthew Rowlinson, Keiichi Sato, Junichi Kurokawa, Yoko Iwamoto, Fumikazu Taketani, Hisahiro Takashima, Monica Navarro Comas, Marios Panagi, and Martin G. Schultz
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-566, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-566, 2025
Revised manuscript accepted for ESSD
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The first comprehensive dataset of tropospheric ozone over oceans/polar regions is presented, including 77 ship/buoy and 48 aircraft campaign observations (1977–2022, 0–5000 m altitude), supplemented by ozonesonde and surface data. Air masses isolated from land for 72+ hours are systematically selected as essentially oceanic. Among the 11 global regions, they show daytime decreases of 10–16% in the tropics, while near-zero depletions are rare, unlike in the Arctic, implying different mechanisms.
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
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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.
Chaim I. Garfinkel, Zachary D. Lawrence, Amy H. Butler, Etienne Dunn-Sigouin, Irene Erner, Alexey Y. Karpechko, Gerbrand Koren, Marta Abalos, Blanca Ayarzagüena, David Barriopedro, Natalia Calvo, Alvaro de la Cámara, Andrew Charlton-Perez, Judah Cohen, Daniela I. V. Domeisen, Javier García-Serrano, Neil P. Hindley, Martin Jucker, Hera Kim, Robert W. Lee, Simon H. Lee, Marisol Osman, Froila M. Palmeiro, Inna Polichtchouk, Jian Rao, Jadwiga H. Richter, Chen Schwartz, Seok-Woo Son, Masakazu Taguchi, Nicholas L. Tyrrell, Corwin J. Wright, and Rachel W.-Y. Wu
Weather Clim. Dynam., 6, 171–195, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-171-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-171-2025, 2025
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Variability in the extratropical stratosphere and troposphere is coupled, and because of the longer timescales characteristic of the stratosphere, this allows for a window of opportunity for surface prediction. This paper assesses whether models used for operational prediction capture these coupling processes accurately. We find that most processes are too weak; however downward coupling from the lower stratosphere to the near surface is too strong.
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.
Takuji Sugidachi, Masatomo Fujiwara, Kensaku Shimizu, Shin-Ya Ogino, Junko Suzuki, and Ruud J. Dirksen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 509–531, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-509-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-509-2025, 2025
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A Peltier-based chilled-mirror hygrometer, SKYDEW, has been developed to measure tropospheric and stratospheric water vapor. Continuous accurate measurements of water vapor are essential for climate monitoring. More than 40 soundings with SKYDEW have been conducted since 2011 to evaluate the performance. The result of soundings at tropical and midlatitudes demonstrated that SKYDEW is able to measure up to an altitude of 20–25 km for daytime soundings and above 25 km for nighttime soundings.
Dillon Elsbury, Federico Serva, Julie M. Caron, Seung-Yoon Back, Clara Orbe, Jadwiga H. Richter, James A. Anstey, Neal Butchart, Chih-Chieh Chen, Javier García-Serrano, Anne Glanville, Yoshio Kawatani, Tobias Kerzenmacher, Francois Lott, Hiroaki Naoe, Scott Osprey, Froila M. Palmeiro, Seok-Woo Son, Masakazu Taguchi, Stefan Versick, Shingo Watanabe, and Kohei Yoshida
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3950, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3950, 2025
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This study examines how the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), a major tropical weather pattern, is influenced by persistent El Niño or La Niña sea surface temperature conditions during winter. Using a coordinated set of climate model experiments, we find that El Niño strengthens Kelvin waves, speeding up MJO propagation, while La Niña strengthens Rossby waves, slowing it down. Better understanding these interactions between the MJO and ocean helps us better understand natural climate variability.
Rasul Baikhadzhaev, Felix Ploeger, Peter Preusse, Manfred Ern, and Thomas Birner
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4088, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4088, 2025
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Across four reanalyses, shallow branch of the stratospheric overturning circulation was found to be driven by the largest waves with wavenumbers 1 to 3, and deep branch of the circulation was found to be driven by smaller-scale waves. Yet, the height of the level separating the branches is depended 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.
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.
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
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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.
Yoshio Kawatani, Kevin Hamilton, Shingo Watanabe, James A. Anstey, Jadwiga H. Richter, Neal Butchart, Clara Orbe, Scott M. Osprey, Hiroaki Naoe, Dillon Elsbury, Chih-Chieh Chen, Javier García-Serrano, Anne Glanville, Tobias Kerzenmacher, François Lott, Froila M. Palmerio, Mijeong Park, Federico Serva, Masakazu Taguchi, Stefan Versick, and Kohei Yoshioda
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3270, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3270, 2024
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The Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) of the tropical stratospheric mean winds has been relatively steady over the 7 decades it has been observed, but there are always cycle-to-cycle variations. This study used several global atmospheric models to investigate systematic modulation of the QBO by the El Niño/La Niña cycle. All models simulated shorter periods during El Niño, in agreement with observations. By contrast, the models disagreed even on the sign of the El Niño effect on QBO amplitude.
Philip Rupp, Jonas Spaeth, Hilla Afargan-Gerstman, Dominik Büeler, Michael Sprenger, and Thomas Birner
Weather Clim. Dynam., 5, 1287–1298, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-1287-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-1287-2024, 2024
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We quantify the occurrence of strong synoptic storms as contributing about 20 % to the uncertainty of subseasonal geopotential height forecasts over northern Europe. We further show that North Atlantic storms are less frequent, weaker and shifted southward following sudden stratospheric warming events, leading to a reduction in northern European forecast uncertainty.
Mona Zolghadrshojaee, Susann Tegtmeier, Sean M. Davis, and Robin Pilch Kedzierski
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7405–7419, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7405-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7405-2024, 2024
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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.
Zizhan Hu, Yiran Peng, Mengke Zhu, and Jonathon S. Wright
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-828, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-828, 2024
Preprint archived
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Clouds and precipitation are among the most difficult features of the climate system to simulate. Water isotopes provide valuable information about how clouds and precipitation develop and evolve, but most models that simulate water isotopes cannot resolve individual clouds. Here we introduce a new isotope-enabled model, iPyCLES, that simulates liquid and ice clouds on scales of 10 to 100 meters. This model can help to translate isotopic observations into constraints for larger-scale models.
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.
Patrick Martineau, Swadhin K. Behera, Masami Nonaka, Hisashi Nakamura, and Yu Kosaka
Weather Clim. Dynam., 5, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-1-2024, 2024
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The representation of subweekly near-surface temperature variability trends over the Southern Hemisphere landmasses is compared across multiple atmospheric reanalyses. It is found that there is generally a good agreement concerning the positive trends affecting South Africa and Australia in the spring, and South America in the summer. A more efficient generation of subweekly temperature variance by horizontal temperature fluxes contributes to the observed rise.
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.
Flossie Brown, Lauren Marshall, Peter H. Haynes, Rolando R. Garcia, Thomas Birner, and Anja Schmidt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5335–5353, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5335-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5335-2023, 2023
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Large-magnitude volcanic eruptions have the potential to alter large-scale circulation patterns, such as the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). The QBO is an oscillation of the tropical stratospheric zonal winds between easterly and westerly directions. Using a climate model, we show that large-magnitude eruptions can delay the progression of the QBO, with a much longer delay when the shear is easterly than when it is westerly. Such delays may affect weather and transport of atmospheric gases.
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
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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
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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.
Felix Jäger, Philip Rupp, and Thomas Birner
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 49–60, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-49-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-49-2023, 2023
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Mid-latitude weather is dominated by the growth, breaking and decay of baroclinic waves and associated jet shifts. A way to study this process is via idealised life-cycle simulations, which are often classified as LC1 (anticyclonic breaking, poleward shift) or LC2 (cyclonic breaking, equatorward shift), depending on details of the initial state. We show that all systems exhibit predominantly anticyclonic character and poleward net shifts if multiple wave modes are allowed to grow simultaneously.
Samuel Benito-Barca, Natalia Calvo, and Marta Abalos
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15729–15745, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15729-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15729-2022, 2022
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The impact of different El Niño flavors (eastern (EP) and central (CP) Pacific El Niño) and La Niña on the stratospheric ozone is studied in a state-of-the-art chemistry–climate model. Ozone reduces in the tropics and increases in the extratropics when an EP El Niño event occurs, the opposite of La Niña. However, CP El Niño has no impact on extratropical ozone. These ozone variations are driven by changes in the stratospheric transport circulation, with an important contribution of mixing.
Shunsuke Hoshino, Takuji Sugidachi, Kensaku Shimizu, Eriko Kobayashi, Masatomo Fujiwara, and Masami Iwabuchi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5917–5948, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5917-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5917-2022, 2022
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GRUAN data products (GDPs) from Meisei iMS-100 and Vaisala RS92 were compared with 59 dual sounding data. For daytime observations, the iMS-100 temperature is around 0.5 K lower than RS92-GDP in the stratosphere, but for nighttime observations, the difference is around −0.1 K, and data are mostly in agreement. For relative humidity (RH), iMS-100 is around 1–2 % RH higher in the troposphere and 1 % RH smaller in the stratosphere than RS92, but both GDPs are in agreement for most of the profile.
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
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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.
Varaha Ravi Kiran, Madineni Venkat Ratnam, Masatomo Fujiwara, Herman Russchenberg, Frank G. Wienhold, Bomidi Lakshmi Madhavan, Mekalathur Roja Raman, Renju Nandan, Sivan Thankamani Akhil Raj, Alladi Hemanth Kumar, and Saginela Ravindra Babu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4709–4734, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4709-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4709-2022, 2022
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We proposed and conducted the multi-instrumental BACIS (Balloon-borne Aerosol–Cloud Interaction Studies) field campaigns using balloon-borne in situ measurements and ground-based and space-borne remote sensing instruments. Aerosol-cloud interaction is quantified for liquid clouds by segregating aerosol and cloud information in a balloon profile. Overall, the observational approach proposed here demonstrated its capability for understanding the aerosol–cloud interaction process.
Zachary D. Lawrence, Marta Abalos, Blanca Ayarzagüena, David Barriopedro, Amy H. Butler, Natalia Calvo, Alvaro de la Cámara, Andrew Charlton-Perez, Daniela I. V. Domeisen, Etienne Dunn-Sigouin, Javier García-Serrano, Chaim I. Garfinkel, Neil P. Hindley, Liwei Jia, Martin Jucker, Alexey Y. Karpechko, Hera Kim, Andrea L. Lang, Simon H. Lee, Pu Lin, Marisol Osman, Froila M. Palmeiro, Judith Perlwitz, Inna Polichtchouk, Jadwiga H. Richter, Chen Schwartz, Seok-Woo Son, Irene Erner, Masakazu Taguchi, Nicholas L. Tyrrell, Corwin J. Wright, and Rachel W.-Y. Wu
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 977–1001, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-977-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-977-2022, 2022
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Forecast models that are used to predict weather often struggle to represent the Earth’s stratosphere. This may impact their ability to predict surface weather weeks in advance, on subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) timescales. We use data from many S2S forecast systems to characterize and compare the stratospheric biases present in such forecast models. These models have many similar stratospheric biases, but they tend to be worse in systems with low model tops located within the stratosphere.
Jonas Spaeth and Thomas Birner
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 883–903, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-883-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-883-2022, 2022
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Past research has demonstrated robust stratosphere–troposphere dynamical coupling following stratospheric circulation extremes. Here, we use a large set of extended-range ensemble forecasts to robustly quantify the increased risk for tropospheric circulation extremes following stratospheric extreme events. In particular, we provide estimates of the fraction of tropospheric extremes that may be attributable to preceding stratospheric extremes.
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
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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.
Beatriz M. Monge-Sanz, Alessio Bozzo, Nicholas Byrne, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Michail Diamantakis, Johannes Flemming, Lesley J. Gray, Robin J. Hogan, Luke Jones, Linus Magnusson, Inna Polichtchouk, Theodore G. Shepherd, Nils Wedi, and Antje Weisheimer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4277–4302, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4277-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4277-2022, 2022
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The stratosphere is emerging as one of the keys to improve tropospheric weather and climate predictions. This study provides evidence of the role the stratospheric ozone layer plays in improving weather predictions at different timescales. Using a new ozone modelling approach suitable for high-resolution global models that provide operational forecasts from days to seasons, we find significant improvements in stratospheric meteorological fields and stratosphere–troposphere coupling.
Marta Abalos, Natalia Calvo, Samuel Benito-Barca, Hella Garny, Steven C. Hardiman, Pu Lin, Martin B. Andrews, Neal Butchart, Rolando Garcia, Clara Orbe, David Saint-Martin, Shingo Watanabe, and Kohei Yoshida
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 13571–13591, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13571-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13571-2021, 2021
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The stratospheric Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC), responsible for transporting mass, tracers and heat globally in the stratosphere, is evaluated in a set of state-of-the-art climate models. The acceleration of the BDC in response to increasing greenhouse gases is most robust in the lower stratosphere. At higher levels, the well-known inconsistency between model and observational BDC trends can be partly reconciled by accounting for limited sampling and large uncertainties in the observations.
Ayako Yamamoto, Masami Nonaka, Patrick Martineau, Akira Yamazaki, Young-Oh Kwon, Hisashi Nakamura, and Bunmei Taguchi
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 819–840, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-819-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-819-2021, 2021
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While the key role of moist processes in blocking has recently been highlighted, their moisture sources remain unknown. Here, we investigate moisture sources for wintertime Euro-Atlantic blocks using a Lagrangian method. We show that the Gulf Stream, Kuroshio, and their extensions, along with the northeast of Hawaii, act as the primary moisture sources and springboards for particle ascent. We find that the evolution of the particle properties is sensitive to the moisture sources.
Jacob W. Maddison, Marta Abalos, David Barriopedro, Ricardo García-Herrera, Jose M. Garrido-Perez, and Carlos Ordóñez
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 675–694, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-675-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-675-2021, 2021
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Air stagnation occurs when an air mass becomes settled over a region and precipitation is suppressed. Pollutant levels can rise during stagnation. The synoptic- to large-scale influence on European air stagnation and pollution is explored here. We show that around 60 % of the monthly variability in air stagnation and pollutants can be explained by dynamical indices describing the atmospheric circulation. The weather systems most related to stagnation are different for regions across Europe.
Thomas von Clarmann, Udo Grabowski, Gabriele P. Stiller, Beatriz M. Monge-Sanz, Norbert Glatthor, and Sylvia Kellmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8823–8843, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8823-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8823-2021, 2021
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Measurements of long-lived trace gases (SF6, CFC-11, CFC-12, HCFC-12, CCl4, N2O, CH4, H2O, and CO) performed with the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) have been used to infer the stratospheric and mesospheric meridional circulation. The MIPAS data set covers the time period from July 2002 to April 2012. The method used for this purpose was the direct inversion of the two-dimensional continuity equation. Multiannual monthly mean circulation fields are presented.
Andrew Orr, Hua Lu, Patrick Martineau, Edwin P. Gerber, Gareth J. Marshall, and Thomas J. Bracegirdle
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7451–7472, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7451-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7451-2021, 2021
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Reanalysis datasets combine observations and weather forecast simulations to create our best estimate of the state of the atmosphere and are important for climate monitoring. Differences in the technical details of these products mean that they may give different results. This study therefore examined how changes associated with the so-called Antarctic ozone hole are represented, which is one of the most important climate changes in recent decades, and showed that they were broadly consistent.
Patrick Martineau, Hisashi Nakamura, and Yu Kosaka
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 395–412, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-395-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-395-2021, 2021
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To better understand the factors that impact the weather in North America, this study explores the influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation on wintertime surface air temperature variability using reanalysis data. Results show that La Niña enhances subseasonal variability over western North America by amplifying the baroclinic conversion of energy from the winter-mean circulation to subseasonal eddies. Changes in the structural properties of eddies are crucial for this amplification.
Lars E. Kalnajs, Sean M. Davis, J. Douglas Goetz, Terry Deshler, Sergey Khaykin, Alex St. Clair, Albert Hertzog, Jerome Bordereau, and Alexey Lykov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2635–2648, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2635-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2635-2021, 2021
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This work introduces a novel instrument system for high-resolution atmospheric profiling, which lowers and retracts a suspended instrument package beneath drifting long-duration balloons. During a 100 d circumtropical flight, the instrument collected over a hundred 2 km profiles of temperature, water vapor, clouds, and aerosol at 1 m resolution, yielding unprecedented geographic sampling and vertical resolution measurements of the tropical tropopause layer.
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
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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.
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
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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.
Masatomo Fujiwara, Tetsu Sakai, Tomohiro Nagai, Koichi Shiraishi, Yoichi Inai, Sergey Khaykin, Haosen Xi, Takashi Shibata, Masato Shiotani, and Laura L. Pan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3073–3090, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3073-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3073-2021, 2021
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Lidar aerosol particle measurements in Japan during the summer of 2018 were found to detect the eastward extension of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer from the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone in the lower stratosphere. Analysis of various other data indicates that the observed enhanced particle levels are due to eastward-shedding vortices from the anticyclone, originating from pollutants emitted in Asian countries and transported vertically by convection in the Asian summer monsoon region.
Philip Rupp and Thomas Birner
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 111–128, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-111-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-111-2021, 2021
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We use the simple framework of an idealised baroclinic life cycle to study the tropospheric eddy feedback to different stratospheric conditions and, hence, obtain insights into the fundamental processes of stratosphere–troposphere coupling – in particular, the processes involved in creating the robust equatorward shift in the tropospheric mid-latitude jet that has been observed following sudden stratospheric warming events.
Marc von Hobe, Felix Ploeger, Paul Konopka, Corinna Kloss, Alexey Ulanowski, Vladimir Yushkov, Fabrizio Ravegnani, C. Michael Volk, Laura L. Pan, Shawn B. Honomichl, Simone Tilmes, Douglas E. Kinnison, Rolando R. Garcia, and Jonathon S. Wright
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1267–1285, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1267-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1267-2021, 2021
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The Asian summer monsoon (ASM) is known to foster transport of polluted tropospheric air into the stratosphere. To test and amend our picture of ASM vertical transport, we analyse distributions of airborne trace gas observations up to 20 km altitude near the main ASM vertical conduit south of the Himalayas. We also show that a new high-resolution version of the global chemistry climate model WACCM is able to reproduce the observations well.
Hella Garny, Roland Walz, Matthias Nützel, and Thomas Birner
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 5229–5257, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-5229-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-5229-2020, 2020
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Numerical models of Earth's climate system have been gaining more and more complexity over the last decades. Therefore, it is important to establish simplified models to improve process understanding. In our study, we present and document the development of a new simplified model setup within the framework of a complex climate model system that uses the same routines to calculate atmospheric dynamics as the complex model but is simplified in the representation of clouds and radiation.
Daniele Minganti, Simon Chabrillat, Yves Christophe, Quentin Errera, Marta Abalos, Maxime Prignon, Douglas E. Kinnison, and Emmanuel Mahieu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12609–12631, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12609-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12609-2020, 2020
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The climatology of the N2O transport budget in the stratosphere is studied in the transformed Eulerian mean framework across a variety of datasets: a chemistry climate model, a chemistry transport model driven by four reanalyses and a chemical reanalysis. The impact of vertical advection on N2O agrees well in the datasets, but horizontal mixing presents large differences above the Antarctic and in the whole Northern Hemisphere.
Lina Boljka and Thomas Birner
Weather Clim. Dynam., 1, 555–575, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-555-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-555-2020, 2020
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This study addresses the origin and impacts of a source of large-scale atmospheric waves in the lower stratosphere, which have not been examined before. This wave source is caused by interactions of waves of smaller scales. Here we show that as it lies in the lower stratosphere, this wave source can precede extreme events in the stratosphere and that such events can then lead to a response of the tropospheric weather patterns several weeks later (potential for long-term forecasting).
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
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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
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Birner, T. and Bönisch, H.: Residual circulation trajectories and transit times into the extratropical lowermost stratosphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 817–827, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-817-2011, 2011.
Birner, T., Thompson, D. W. J., and Shepherd, T. G.: Up-gradient eddy fluxes of potential vorticity near the subtropical jet, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 5988–5993, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL057728, 2013.
Butchart, N.: The Brewer-Dobson circulation, Rev. Geophys., 52, 157–184, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013RG000448, 2014.
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Eichinger, R., Garny, H., Šácha, P., Danker, J., Dietmüller, S., and Oberländer-Hayn, S.: Effects of missing gravity waves on stratospheric dynamics; part 1: climatology, Clim. Dynam. 54, 3165–3183, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-020-05166-w, 2020.
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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.
A climatology of the major variables and terms of the transformed Eulerian-mean (TEM) momentum...
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