Articles | Volume 25, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1289-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-25-1289-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
29 Jan 2025
Research article |
| 29 Jan 2025
| 29 Jan 2025
Transport into the polar stratosphere from the Asian monsoon region
State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, China
Institute for Energy and Climate Research: Stratosphere (IEK-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
Felix Ploeger
Institute for Energy and Climate Research: Stratosphere (IEK-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Research, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
Aurélien Podglajen
Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD/IPSL), École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Sorbonne Université, École Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, CNRS, Paris, France
Related authors
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.
Xiaolu Yan, Paul Konopka, Marius Hauck, Aurélien Podglajen, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6627–6645, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6627-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6627-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Inter-hemispheric transport is important for understanding atmospheric tracers because of the asymmetry in emissions between the Southern Hemisphere (SH) and Northern Hemisphere (NH). This study finds that the air masses from the NH extratropics to the atmosphere are about 5 times larger than those from the SH extratropics. The interplay between the Asian summer monsoon and westerly ducts triggers the cross-Equator transport from the NH to the SH in boreal summer and fall.
Pierre Cadiou, Riwal Plougonven, Aurélien Podglajen, Albert Hertzog, and Alexandra Mac Farlane
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3208, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3208, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
Winds in the Equatorial region remain difficult to model. We take advantage of long-duration balloon campaigns from 2019 and 2021 to assess errors in winds between 18 and 20 km in a weather forecast model. Large errors persist: one third of the time, the error is larger than 3.5 meters per second. This has implications for research studies that calculate air mass trajectories in this transition region between the troposphere and the stratosphere.
Corinna Kloss, Gwenaël Berthet, Pasquale Sellitto, Irene Bartolome Garcia, Emmanuel Briaud, Rubel Chandra Das, Stéphane Chevrier, Nicolas Dumelié, Lilian Joly, Thomas Lecas, Pauline Marbach, Felix Ploeger, Jean-Baptiste Renard, Jean-Paul Vernier, Frank G. Wienhold, and Michaela I. Hegglin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2091, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2091, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
In October 2022, we detected volcanic particles in the stratosphere over France, linked to the January 2022 Hunga eruption in the South Pacific. Found between 17 and 23 km altitude, they were traced back to the tropics using trajectory simulations and satellite data. Their optical properties matched those in the Southern Hemisphere. The particles spread across the Northern Hemisphere, reflecting sunlight and slightly cooling the surface—a small but non-negligible effect.
Clair Duchamp, Bernard Legras, Aurélien Podglajen, Pasquale Sellitto, Adam E. Bourassa, Alexei Rozanov, Ghassan Taha, and Daniel J. Zawada
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3355, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3355, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
We analyzed the stratospheric aerosol plume from the 2022 Hunga eruption using satellite lidar data. We implemented a method to retrieve some aerosol properties, as standard products failed in this case. We found very high optical depth values in the days following the eruption, which decreased rapidly but remained elevated for months. Our results are broadly validated, though some satellite products underestimate the values due, in part, to the unusual aerosol size distribution in the plume.
Pasquale Sellitto, Redha Belhadji, Bernard Legras, Aurélien Podglajen, and Clair Duchamp
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6353–6364, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6353-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6353-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on 15 January 2022, producing the largest stratospheric aerosol perturbation of the last 30 years. Stratospheric volcanic aerosols usually produce a transient climate cooling; these impacts depend on volcanic aerosol composition/size, due to size-dependent interactions with solar/terrestrial radiation. We demonstrate that the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai stratospheric aerosols have a larger cooling potential per unit mass than the past climate-relevant El Chichón (1984) and Pinatubo (1991) eruptions.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Laura N. Saunders, Kaley A. Walker, Gabriele P. Stiller, Thomas von Clarmann, Florian Haenel, Hella Garny, Harald Bönisch, Chris D. Boone, Ariana E. Castillo, Andreas Engel, Johannes C. Laube, Marianna Linz, Felix Ploeger, David A. Plummer, Eric A. Ray, and Patrick E. Sheese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4185–4209, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4185-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4185-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present a 17-year stratospheric age-of-air dataset derived from ACE-FTS satellite measurements of sulfur hexafluoride. This is the longest continuous, global, and vertically resolved age of air time series available to date. In this paper, we show that this dataset agrees well with age-of-air datasets based on measurements from other instruments. We also present trends in the midlatitude lower stratosphere that indicate changes in the global circulation that are predicted by climate models.
Florian Voet, Felix Ploeger, Johannes Laube, Peter Preusse, Paul Konopka, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Jörn Ungermann, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Michael Höpfner, Bernd Funke, Gerald Wetzel, Sören Johansson, Gabriele Stiller, Eric Ray, and Michaela I. Hegglin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3541–3565, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3541-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3541-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study refines estimates of the stratospheric “age of air”, a measure of how long air circulates in the stratosphere. By analyzing correlations between trace gases measurable by satellites, the research introduces a method that reduces uncertainties and detects small-scale atmospheric features. This improved understanding of stratospheric circulation is crucial for better climate models and predictions, enhancing our ability to assess the impacts of climate change on the atmosphere.
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.
Paul Konopka, Felix Ploeger, Francesco D'Amato, Teresa Campos, Marc von Hobe, Shawn B. Honomichl, Peter Hoor, Laura L. Pan, Michelle L. Santee, Silvia Viciani, Kaley A. Walker, and Michaela I. Hegglin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1155, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1155, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present an improved version of the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS-3.0), which better represents transport from the lower atmosphere to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. By refining grid resolution and improving convection representation, the model more accurately simulates carbon monoxide transport. Comparisons with satellite and in situ observations highlight its ability to capture seasonal variations and improve our understanding of atmospheric transport.
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.
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Hongyue Wang, Mijeong Park, Mengchu Tao, Cristina Peña-Ortiz, Nuria Pilar Plaza, Felix Ploeger, and Paul Konopka
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3260, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3260, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated how stratospheric water vapor behaves over the Asian and North American monsoons. Using a method that tracks air movement, we recreated the moisture patterns. Our results show that the moisture in monsoon regions is primarily controlled by largescale air temperatures, while the North American monsoon is influenced by distant transport. These findings enhance our understanding of summertime stratospheric water vapor changes and offer insights into climate feedback mechanisms.
Sullivan Carbone, Emmanuel D. Riviere, Mélanie Ghysels, Jérémie Burgalat, Georges Durry, Nadir Amarouche, Aurélien Podglajen, and Albert Hertzog
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3249, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3249, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
During the two first Strateole 2 campaigns, instruments have flown under super pressure balloons between 18 and 20 km for several weeks at the equator and performed in situ measurements of water vapor. The present article exposes the methodology used to quantify the modulation of water vapor by atmospheric waves and deep convective cases. This methodology allows to put to the fore the influence of atmospheric waves and extremely deep convection on the observed water vapor anomalies.
Thomas Lesigne, François Ravetta, Aurélien Podglajen, Vincent Mariage, and Jacques Pelon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5935–5952, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5935-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5935-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Upper tropical clouds have a strong impact on Earth's climate but are challenging to observe. We report the first long-duration observations of tropical clouds from lidars flying on board stratospheric balloons. Comparisons with spaceborne observations reveal the enhanced sensitivity of balloon-borne lidar to optically thin cirrus. These clouds, which have a significant coverage and lie in the uppermost troposphere, are linked with the dehydration of air masses on their way to the stratosphere.
Cristina Peña-Ortiz, Nuria Pilar Plaza, David Gallego, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5457–5478, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5457-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5457-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Although water vapour (H2O) in the lower stratosphere is only a few molecules among 1 million air molecules, atmospheric radiative forcing and surface temperature are sensitive to changes in its concentration. Monsoon regions play a key role in H2O transport and its concentration in the lower stratosphere. We show how the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) has a major impact on H2O over the Asian monsoon during August through changes in temperature caused by QBO modulation of tropical clouds.
Martin Ebert, Ralf Weigel, Stephan Weinbruch, Lisa Schneider, Konrad Kandler, Stefan Lauterbach, Franziska Köllner, Felix Plöger, Gebhard Günther, Bärbel Vogel, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4771–4788, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4771-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4771-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Particles were collected during the flight campaign StratoClim 2017 within the Asian tropopause aerosol layer (ATAL). Refractory particles from seven different flights were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM). The most abundant refractory particles are silicates and non-volatile organics. The most important sources are combustion processes at the ground and the agitation of soil material. During one flight, small cinnabar particles (HgS) were also detected.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Jan Clemens, Bärbel Vogel, Lars Hoffmann, Sabine Griessbach, Nicole Thomas, Suvarna Fadnavis, Rolf Müller, Thomas Peter, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 763–787, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-763-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-763-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The source regions of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer (ATAL) are debated. We use balloon-borne measurements of the layer above Nainital (India) in August 2016 and atmospheric transport models to find ATAL source regions. Most air originated from the Tibetan plateau. However, the measured ATAL was stronger when more air originated from the Indo-Gangetic Plain and weaker when more air originated from the Pacific. Hence, the results indicate important anthropogenic contributions to the ATAL.
Bärbel Vogel, C. Michael Volk, Johannes Wintel, Valentin Lauther, Jan Clemens, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Gebhard Günther, Lars Hoffmann, Johannes C. Laube, Rolf Müller, Felix Ploeger, and Fred Stroh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 317–343, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-317-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-317-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Over the Indian subcontinent, polluted air is rapidly uplifted to higher altitudes during the Asian monsoon season. We present an assessment of vertical transport in this region using different wind data provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), as well as high-resolution aircraft measurements. In general, our findings confirm that the newest ECMWF reanalysis product, ERA5, yields a better representation of transport compared to the predecessor, ERA-Interim.
Pasquale Sellitto, Redha Belhadji, Juan Cuesta, Aurélien Podglajen, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15523–15535, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15523-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15523-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Record-breaking wildfires ravaged south-eastern Australia during the fire season 2019–2020. These fires injected a smoke plume in the stratosphere, which dispersed over the whole Southern Hemisphere and interacted with solar and terrestrial radiation. A number of detached smoke bubbles were also observed emanating from this plume and ascending quickly to over 35 km altitude. Here we study how absorption of radiation generated ascending motion of both the the hemispheric plume and the vortices.
Paul Konopka, Christian Rolf, Marc von Hobe, Sergey M. Khaykin, Benjamin Clouser, Elisabeth Moyer, Fabrizio Ravegnani, Francesco D'Amato, Silvia Viciani, Nicole Spelten, Armin Afchine, Martina Krämer, Fred Stroh, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12935–12947, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12935-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12935-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We studied water vapor in a critical region of the atmosphere, the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone, using rare in situ observations. Our study shows that extremely high water vapor values observed in the stratosphere within the Asian monsoon anticyclone still undergo significant freeze-drying and that water vapor concentrations set by the Lagrangian dry point are a better proxy for the stratospheric water vapor budget than rare observations of enhanced water mixing ratios.
Frederik Harzer, Hella Garny, Felix Ploeger, Harald Bönisch, Peter Hoor, and Thomas Birner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10661–10675, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10661-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10661-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Lars Hoffmann, Paul Konopka, Jan Clemens, and Bärbel Vogel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7589–7609, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7589-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7589-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric convection plays a key role in tracer transport in the troposphere. Global meteorological forecasts and reanalyses typically have a coarse spatiotemporal resolution that does not adequately resolve the dynamics, transport, and mixing of air associated with storm systems or deep convection. We discuss the application of the extreme convection parameterization in a Lagrangian transport model to improve simulations of tracer transport from the boundary layer into the free troposphere.
Milena Corcos, Albert Hertzog, Riwal Plougonven, and Aurélien Podglajen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6923–6939, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6923-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6923-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The role of gravity waves on tropical cirrus clouds and air-parcel dehydration was studied using the combination of Lagrangian observations of temperature fluctuations from superpressure balloons and a 1.5D model. The inclusion of the gravity waves to a reference simulation of a slow ascent around the cold-point tropopause drastically increases ice-crystal density, cloud fraction, and air-parcel dehydration, and it produces a crystal size distribution that agrees better with observations.
Richard Wilson, Clara Pitois, Aurélien Podglajen, Albert Hertzog, Milena Corcos, and Riwal Plougonven
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 311–330, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-311-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-311-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Strateole-2 is an French–US initiative designed to study atmospheric events in the tropical upper troposphere–lower stratosphere. In this work, data from several superpressure balloons, capable of staying aloft at an altitude of 18–20 km for over 3 months, were used. The present article describes methods to detect the occurrence of atmospheric turbulence – one efficient process impacting the properties of the atmosphere composition via stirring and mixing.
Bernard Legras, Clair Duchamp, Pasquale Sellitto, Aurélien Podglajen, Elisa Carboni, Richard Siddans, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Sergey Khaykin, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14957–14970, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14957-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14957-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The long-duration atmospheric impact of the Tonga eruption in January 2022 is a plume of water and sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere that persisted for more than 6 months. We study this evolution using several satellite instruments and analyse the unusual behaviour of this plume as sulfates and water first moved down rapidly and then separated into two layers. We also report the self-organization in compact and long-lived patches.
Mohamadou A. Diallo, Felix Ploeger, Michaela I. Hegglin, Manfred Ern, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Sergey Khaykin, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14303–14321, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14303-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14303-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The quasi-biennial oacillation disruption events in both 2016 and 2020 decreased lower-stratospheric water vapour and ozone. Differences in the strength and depth of the anomalous lower-stratospheric circulation and ozone are due to differences in tropical upwelling and cold-point temperature induced by lower-stratospheric planetary and gravity wave breaking. The differences in water vapour are due to higher cold-point temperature in 2020 induced by Australian wildfire.
Paul Konopka, Mengchu Tao, Marc von Hobe, Lars Hoffmann, Corinna Kloss, Fabrizio Ravegnani, C. Michael Volk, Valentin Lauther, Andreas Zahn, Peter Hoor, and Felix Ploeger
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 7471–7487, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7471-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7471-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Pure trajectory-based transport models driven by meteorology derived from reanalysis products (ERA5) take into account only the resolved, advective part of transport. That means neither mixing processes nor unresolved subgrid-scale advective processes like convection are included. The Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS) includes these processes. We show that isentropic mixing dominates unresolved transport. The second most important transport process is unresolved convection.
Liubov Poshyvailo-Strube, Rolf Müller, Stephan Fueglistaler, Michaela I. Hegglin, Johannes C. Laube, C. Michael Volk, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9895–9914, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9895-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9895-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC) controls the composition of the stratosphere, which in turn affects radiation and climate. As the BDC cannot be measured directly, it is necessary to infer its strength and trends indirectly. In this study, we test in the
model worlddifferent methods for estimating the mean age of air trends based on a combination of stratospheric water vapour and methane data. We also provide simple practical advice of a more reliable estimation of the mean age of air trends.
Suvarna Fadnavis, Prashant Chavan, Akash Joshi, Sunil M. Sonbawne, Asutosh Acharya, Panuganti C. S. Devara, Alexandru Rap, Felix Ploeger, and Rolf Müller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7179–7191, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7179-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7179-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We show that large amounts of anthropogenic aerosols are transported from South Asia to the northern Indian Ocean. These aerosols are then lifted into the UTLS by the ascending branch of the Hadley circulation. They are further transported to the Southern Hemisphere and downward via westerly ducts over the tropical Atlantic and Pacific. These aerosols increase tropospheric heating, resulting in an increase in water vapor, which is then transported to the UTLS.
Felix Ploeger and Hella Garny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 5559–5576, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5559-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5559-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate hemispheric asymmetries in stratospheric circulation changes in the last 2 decades in model simulations and atmospheric observations. We find that observed trace gas changes can be explained by a structural circulation change related to a deepening circulation in the Northern Hemisphere relative to the Southern Hemisphere. As this asymmetric signal is small compared to internal variability observed circulation trends over the recent past are not in contradiction to climate models.
Jan Clemens, Felix Ploeger, Paul Konopka, Raphael Portmann, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3841–3860, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3841-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3841-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Highly polluted air flows from the surface to higher levels of the atmosphere during the Asian summer monsoon. At high levels, the air is trapped within eddies. Here, we study how air masses can leave the eddy within its cutoff, how they distribute, and how their chemical composition changes. We found evidence for transport from the eddy to higher latitudes over the North Pacific and even Alaska. During transport, trace gas concentrations within cutoffs changed gradually, showing steady mixing.
Dina Khordakova, Christian Rolf, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Rolf Müller, Paul Konopka, Andreas Wieser, Martina Krämer, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 1059–1079, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1059-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1059-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Extreme storms transport humidity from the troposphere to the stratosphere. Here it has a strong impact on the climate. With ongoing global warming, we expect more storms and, hence, an enhancement of this effect. A case study was performed in order to measure the impact of the direct injection of water vapor into the lower stratosphere. The measurements displayed a significant transport of water vapor into the lower stratosphere, and this was supported by satellite and reanalysis data.
Christoph Mahnke, Ralf Weigel, Francesco Cairo, Jean-Paul Vernier, Armin Afchine, Martina Krämer, Valentin Mitev, Renaud Matthey, Silvia Viciani, Francesco D'Amato, Felix Ploeger, Terry Deshler, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15259–15282, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15259-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15259-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In 2017, in situ aerosol measurements were conducted aboard the M55 Geophysica in the Asian monsoon region. The vertical particle mixing ratio profiles show a distinct layer (15–18.5 km), the Asian tropopause aerosol layer (ATAL). The backscatter ratio (BR) was calculated based on the aerosol size distributions and compared with the BRs detected by a backscatter probe and a lidar aboard M55, and by the CALIOP lidar. All four methods show enhanced BRs in the ATAL altitude range (max. at 17.5 km).
Ralf Weigel, Christoph Mahnke, Manuel Baumgartner, Antonis Dragoneas, Bärbel Vogel, Felix Ploeger, Silvia Viciani, Francesco D'Amato, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Beiping Luo, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11689–11722, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11689-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11689-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In July and August 2017, eight StratoClim mission flights of the Geophysica reached up to 20 km in the Asian monsoon anticyclone. New particle formation (NPF) was identified in situ by abundant nucleation-mode aerosols (6–15 nm in diameter) with mixing ratios of up to 50 000 mg−1. NPF occurred most frequently at 12–16 km with fractions of non-volatile residues of down to 15 %. Abundance and productivity of observed NPF indicate its ability to promote the Asian tropopause aerosol layer.
Lukas Krasauskas, Jörn Ungermann, Peter Preusse, Felix Friedl-Vallon, Andreas Zahn, Helmut Ziereis, Christian Rolf, Felix Plöger, Paul Konopka, Bärbel Vogel, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10249–10272, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10249-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10249-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A Rossby wave (RW) breaking event was observed over the North Atlantic during the WISE measurement campaign in October 2017. Infrared limb sounding measurements of trace gases in the lower stratosphere, including high-resolution 3-D tomographic reconstruction, revealed complex spatial structures in stratospheric tracers near the polar jet related to previous RW breaking events. Backward-trajectory analysis and tracer correlations were used to study mixing and stratosphere–troposphere exchange.
Nuria Pilar Plaza, Aurélien Podglajen, Cristina Peña-Ortiz, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9585–9607, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9585-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9585-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We study the role of different processes in setting the lower stratospheric water vapour. We find that mechanisms involving ice microphysics and small-scale mixing produce the strongest increase in water vapour, in particular over the Asian Monsoon. Small-scale mixing has a special relevance as it improves the agreement with observations at seasonal and intra-seasonal timescales, contrary to the North American Monsoon case, in which large-scale temperatures still dominate its variability.
Felix Ploeger, Mohamadou Diallo, Edward Charlesworth, Paul Konopka, Bernard Legras, Johannes C. Laube, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Gebhard Günther, Andreas Engel, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8393–8412, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8393-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8393-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the global stratospheric circulation (Brewer–Dobson circulation) in the new ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis based on age of air simulations, and we compare it to results from the preceding ERA-Interim reanalysis. Our results show a slower stratospheric circulation and higher age for ERA5. The age of air trend in ERA5 over the 1989–2018 period is negative throughout the stratosphere, related to multi-annual variability and a potential contribution from changes in the reanalysis system.
Mohamadou Diallo, Manfred Ern, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7515–7544, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7515-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7515-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Despite good agreement in the spatial structure, there are substantial differences in the strength of the Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC) and its modulations in the UTLS and upper stratosphere. The tropical upwelling is generally weaker in ERA5 than in ERAI due to weaker planetary and gravity wave breaking in the UTLS. Analysis of the BDC trend shows an acceleration of the BDC of about 1.5 % decade-1 due to the long-term intensification in wave breaking, consistent with climate predictions.
Hugo Lestrelin, Bernard Legras, Aurélien Podglajen, and Mikail Salihoglu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7113–7134, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7113-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7113-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Following the 2020 Australian fires, it was recently discovered that stratospheric wildfire smoke plumes self-organize as anticyclonic vortices that persist for months and rise by 10 km due to the radiative heating from the absorbing smoke. In this study, we show that smoke-charged vortices previously occurred in the aftermath of the 2017 Canadian fires. We use meteorological analysis to characterize this new object in geophysical fluid dynamics, which likely impacts radiation and climate.
Xiaolu Yan, Paul Konopka, Marius Hauck, Aurélien Podglajen, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6627–6645, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6627-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6627-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Inter-hemispheric transport is important for understanding atmospheric tracers because of the asymmetry in emissions between the Southern Hemisphere (SH) and Northern Hemisphere (NH). This study finds that the air masses from the NH extratropics to the atmosphere are about 5 times larger than those from the SH extratropics. The interplay between the Asian summer monsoon and westerly ducts triggers the cross-Equator transport from the NH to the SH in boreal summer and fall.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Corinna Kloss, Gwenaël Berthet, Pasquale Sellitto, Felix Ploeger, Ghassan Taha, Mariam Tidiga, Maxim Eremenko, Adriana Bossolasco, Fabrice Jégou, Jean-Baptiste Renard, and Bernard Legras
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 535–560, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-535-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-535-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The year 2019 was particularly rich for the stratospheric aerosol layer due to two volcanic eruptions (at Raikoke and Ulawun) and wildfire events. With satellite observations and models, we describe the exceptionally complex situation following the Raikoke eruption. The respective plume overwhelmed the Northern Hemisphere stratosphere in terms of aerosol load and resulted in the highest climate impact throughout the past decade.
Manuel Baumgartner, Ralf Weigel, Allan H. Harvey, Felix Plöger, Ulrich Achatz, and Peter Spichtinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15585–15616, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15585-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15585-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The potential temperature is routinely used in atmospheric science. We review its derivation and suggest a new potential temperature, based on a temperature-dependent parameterization of the dry air's specific heat capacity. Moreover, we compare the new potential temperature to the common one and discuss the differences which become more important at higher altitudes. Finally, we indicate some consequences of using the new potential temperature in typical applications.
Edward J. Charlesworth, Ann-Kristin Dugstad, Frauke Fritsch, Patrick Jöckel, and Felix Plöger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15227–15245, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15227-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15227-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Modeling the stratosphere requires models with good representations of chemical transport. To do this, nearly all models divide the atmosphere into boxes. This creates some unwanted problems. However, the only other option is to divide the atmosphere into balloons, and this method is very complicated. Here, we use a model which uses this balloon-like method to estimate the impacts of this method on chemical transport. We find significant differences in sensitive regions of the stratosphere.
Yuli Zhang, Mengchu Tao, Jinqiang Zhang, Yi Liu, Hongbin Chen, Zhaonan Cai, and Paul Konopka
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13343–13354, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13343-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13343-2020, 2020
Cited articles
Adcock, K. E., Fraser, P. J., Hall, B. D., Langenfelds, R. L., Lee, G., Montzka, S. A., Oram, D. E., Röckmann, T., Stroh, F., Sturges, W. T., Vogel, B., and Laube, J. C.: Aircraft-Based Observations of Ozone-Depleting Substances in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere in and Above the Asian Summer Monsoon, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 126, e2020JD033137, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033137, 2021. a
Anenberg, S. C., Miller, J., Henze, D. K., Minjares, R., and Achakulwisut, P.: The global burden of transportation tailpipe emissions on air pollution-related mortality in 2010 and 2015, Environ. Res. Lett., 14, 094012, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab35fc, 2019. a
Anstey, J. A., Osprey, S. M., Alexander, J., Baldwin, M. P., Butchart, N., Gray, L., Kawatani, Y., Newman, P. A., and Richter, J. H.: Impacts, processes and projections of the quasi-biennial oscillation, Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 3, 588–603, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00323-7, 2022. a
Bais, A. F., Lucas, R. M., Bornman, J. F., Williamson, C. E., Sulzberger, B., Austin, A. T., Wilson, S. R., Andrady, A. L., Bernhard, G., McKenzie, R. L., Aucamp, P. J., Madronich, S., Neale, R. E., Yazar, S., Young, A. R., de Gruijl, F. R., Norval, M., Takizawa, Y., Barnes, P. W., Robson, T. M., Robinson, S. A., Ballaré, C. L., Flint, S. D., Neale, P. J., Hylander, S., Rose, K. C., Wängberg, S.-Å., Häder, D.-P., Worrest, R. C., Zepp, R. G., Paul, N. D., Cory, R. M., Solomon, K. R., Longstreth, J., Pandey, K. K., Redhwi, H. H., Torikai, A., and Heikkilä, A. M.: Environmental effects of ozone depletion, UV radiation and interactions with climate change: UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, update 2017, Photochem. Photobio. S., 17, 127–179, https://doi.org/10.1039/C7PP90043K, 2018. a
Baldwin, M., Gray, L., Dunkerton, T., Hamilton, K., Haynes, P., Randel, W., Holton, J., Alexander, M., Hirota, I., Horinouchi, T., Jones, D., Kinnersley, J., Marquardt, C., Sato, K., and Takahashi, M.: The quasi-biennial oscillation, Rev. Geophys., 39, 179–229, 2001. a
Bergman, J. W., Jensen, E. J., Pfister, L., and Yang, Q.: Seasonal differences of vertical-transport efficiency in the tropical tropopause layer: On the interplay between tropical deep convection, large-scale vertical ascent, and horizontal circulations, J. Geophys. Res., 117, D05302, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016992, 2012. a
Bernath, P. F., McElroy, C. T., Abrams, M. C., Boone, C. D., Butler, M., Camy-Peyret, C., Carleer, M., Clerbaux, C., Coheur, P.-F., Colin, R., DeCola, P., DeMazière, M., Drummond, J. R., Dufour, D., Evans, W. F. J., Fast, H., Fussen, D., Gilbert, K., Jennings, D. E., Llewellyn, E. J., Lowe, R. P., Mahieu, E., McConnell, J. C., McHugh, M., McLeod, S. D., Michaud, R., Midwinter, C., Nassar, R., Nichitiu, F., Nowlan, C., Rinsland, C. P., Rochon, Y. J., Rowlands, N., Semeniuk, K., Simon, P., Skelton, R., Sloan, J. J., Soucy, M.-A., Strong, K., Tremblay, P., Turnbull, D., Walker, K. A., Walkty, I., Wardle, D. A., Wehrle, V., Zander, R., and Zou, J.: Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) Mission overview, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L15S01, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL022386, 2005. a
Berntsen, T. K., Karlsdóttir, S. N., and Jaffe, D. A.: Influence of Asian emissions on the composition of air reaching the north western United States, Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 2171–2174, 1999. a
Bian, J., Li, D., Bai, Z., Li, Q., Lyu, D., and Zhou, X.: Transport of Asian surface pollutants to the global stratosphere from the Tibetan Plateau region during the Asian summer monsoon, Natl. Sci. Rev., 7, 516–533, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaa005, 2020. a, b
Brown, F., Marshall, L., Haynes, P. H., Garcia, R. R., Birner, T., and Schmidt, A.: On the magnitude and sensitivity of the quasi-biennial oscillation response to a tropical volcanic eruption, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5335–5353, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5335-2023, 2023. a
Chirkov, M., Stiller, G. P., Laeng, A., Kellmann, S., von Clarmann, T., Boone, C. D., Elkins, J. W., Engel, A., Glatthor, N., Grabowski, U., Harth, C. M., Kiefer, M., Kolonjari, F., Krummel, P. B., Linden, A., Lunder, C. R., Miller, B. R., Montzka, S. A., Mühle, J., O'Doherty, S., Orphal, J., Prinn, R. G., Toon, G., Vollmer, M. K., Walker, K. A., Weiss, R. F., Wiegele, A., and Young, D.: Global HCFC-22 measurements with MIPAS: retrieval, validation, global distribution and its evolution over 2005–2012, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3345–3368, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3345-2016, 2016. a
Clem, K. R., Fogt, R. L., Turner, J., Lintner, B. R., Marshall, G. J., Miller, J. R., and Renwick, J. A.: Record warming at the South Pole during the past three decades, Nat. Clim. Change, 10, 762–770, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0815-z, 2020. a
Denning, A. S., Holzer, M., Gurney, K. R., Heimann, M., Law, R. M., Rayner, P. J., Fung, I. Y., Fan, S.-M., Taguchi, S., Friedlingstein, P., Balkanski, Y., Taylor, J., Maiss, M., and Levin, I.: Three-dimensional transport and concentration of SF6 A model intercomparison study (TransCom 2), Tellus B, 51, 266–297, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v51i2.16286, 1999. a
Dethof, A., O'Neill, A., Slingo, J. M., and Smit, H. G. J.: A mechanism for moistening the lower stratosphere involving the Asian summer monsoon, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 556, 1079–1106, 1999. a
Dutton, G. S., Hall, B. D., Dlugokencky, E. J., Lan, X., Madronich, M., Nance, J. D., and Petersen, K. M.: Combined Atmospheric Sulfur hexaflouride Dry Air Mole Fractions from the NOAA GML Halocarbons Sampling Network, 1995–2024, Version: 2024-02-21, Global Monitoring Laboratory [data set], https://doi.org/10.15138/TQ02-ZX42, 2024. a, b
Fadnavis, S., Roy, C., Chattopadhyay, R., Sioris, C. E., Rap, A., Müller, R., Kumar, K. R., and Krishnan, R.: Transport of trace gases via eddy shedding from the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone and associated impacts on ozone heating rates, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11493–11506, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11493-2018, 2018. a
Garny, H. and Randel, W. J.: Transport pathways from the Asian monsoon anticyclone to the stratosphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2703–2718, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2703-2016, 2016. a, b, c
Granier, C., Bessagnet, B., Bond, T. C., D'Angiola, A., Denier van der Gon, H., Frost, G. J., Heil, A., Kaiser, J. W., Kinne, S., Klimont, Z., Kloster, J., Lamarque, J. F., Liousse, C., Masui, T., Meleux, F., Mieville, A., Ohara, T., Raut, J.-C., Riahi, K., Schultz, M., Smith, S. J., Thomson, A. M., van Aardenne, J., van der Werf, G. R., and Van Vuuren, D.: Evolution of anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions of air pollutants at global and regional scales during the 1980–2010 period, Climatic Change, 109, 163–190, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0154-1, 2011. a
Haine, T. W. N., Zhang, H., Waugh, D. W., and Holzer, M.: On transit time distributions in unsteady circulation models, Ocean Model., 21, 35–45, 2008. a
Holton, J. R. and Tan, H.-C.: The influence of the equatorial quasi-biennial oscillation on the global circulation at 50 mb, J. Atmos. Sci., 37, 2200–2208, 1980. a
Janssens-Maenhout, G., Crippa, M., Guizzardi, D., Muntean, M., Schaaf, E., Dentener, F., Bergamaschi, P., Pagliari, V., Olivier, J. G. J., Peters, J. A. H. W., van Aardenne, J. A., Monni, S., Doering, U., Petrescu, A. M. R., Solazzo, E., and Oreggioni, G. D.: EDGAR v4.3.2 Global Atlas of the three major greenhouse gas emissions for the period 1970–2012, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 959–1002, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-959-2019, 2019. a
Konopka, P., Steinhorst, H.-M., Grooß, J.-U., Günther, G., Müller, R., Elkins, J. W., Jost, H.-J., Richard, E., Schmidt, U., Toon, G., and McKenna, D. S.: Mixing and Ozone Loss in the 1999–2000 Arctic Vortex: Simulations with the 3-dimensional Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS), J. Geophys. Res., 109, D02315, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD003792, 2004. a
Konopka, P., Tao, M., von Hobe, M., Hoffmann, L., Kloss, C., Ravegnani, F., Volk, C. M., Lauther, V., Zahn, A., Hoor, P., and Ploeger, F.: Tropospheric transport and unresolved convection: numerical experiments with CLaMS 2.0/MESSy, Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 7471–7487, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7471-2022, 2022. a
Kurokawa, J., Ohara, T., Morikawa, T., Hanayama, S., Janssens-Maenhout, G., Fukui, T., Kawashima, K., and Akimoto, H.: Emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases over Asian regions during 2000–2008: Regional Emission inventory in ASia (REAS) version 2, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11019–11058, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11019-2013, 2013. a
Li, F., Waugh, D. W., Douglass, A. R., Newman, P. A., Pawson, S., Stolarski, R. S., Strahan, S. E., and Nielsen, J. E.: Seasonal variations in stratospheric age spectra in GEOSCCM, J. Geophys. Res., 117, D05134, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016877, 2012. a
Ma, D., Wang, T., Wu, H., Qu, Y., Li, S., Zhuang, B., Li, M., Xie, M., and Kilifarska-Nedialkova, N. A.: The joint impact of PM2.5, O3, and CO2 on the East Asian Summer Monsoon in 2013 and 2018 due to contrasting emission reduction, Atmos. Environ., 333, 120678, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2024.120678, 2024. a
McKenna, D. S., Konopka, P., Grooß, J.-U., Günther, G., Müller, R., Spang, R., Offermann, D., and Orsolini, Y.: A new Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS): 1. Formulation of advection and mixing, J. Geophys. Res., 107, 4309, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD000114, 2002. a
Montzka, S. A., Dutton, G. S., Yu, P., Ray, E. A., Portmann, R. W., Daniel, J., Kuijpers, L. J. M., Hall, B. D., Mondeel, D. J., Siso, C., Nance, J. D., Rigby, M. L., Manning, A. J., Hu, L., Moore, F. L., Miller, B. R., and Elkins, J. W.: An unexpected and persistent increase in global emissions of ozone-depleting CFC-11, Nature, 557, 413–417, 2018. a
Nützel, M., Podglajen, A., Garny, H., and Ploeger, F.: Quantification of water vapour transport from the Asian monsoon to the stratosphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8947–8966, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8947-2019, 2019. a
Orbe, C., Waugh, D. W., and Newman, P. A.: Air-mass origin in the tropical lower stratosphere: The influence of Asian boundary layer air, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 4240–4248, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL063937, 2015. a, b
Pan, L. L., Honomichl, S. B., Kinnison, D. E., Abalos, M., Randel, W. J., Bergman, J. W., and Bian, J.: Transport of chemical tracers from the boundary layer to stratosphere associated with the dynamics of the Asian summer monsoon, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121, 14159–14174, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025616, 2016. a
Park, M., Randel, W. J., Emmons, L. K., and Livesey, N. J.: Transport pathways of carbon monoxide in the Asian summer monsoon diagnosed from Model of Ozone and Related Tracers (MOZART), J. Geophys. Res., 114, D08303, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD010621, 2009. a, b
Park, M., Randel, W. J., Kinnison, D. E., Emmons, L. K., Bernath, P. F., Walker, K. A., Boone, C. D., and Livesey, N. J.: Hydrocarbons in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere observed from ACE-FTS and comparisons with WACCM, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 118, 1964–1980, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JD018327, 2013. a
Pascoe, C. L., Gray, L. J., Crooks, S. A., Juckes, M. N., and Baldwin, M. P.: The quasi-biennial oscillation: Analysis using ERA-40 data, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 110, D08105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD004941, 2005. a
Ploeger, F. and Birner, T.: Seasonal and inter-annual variability of lower stratospheric age of air spectra, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 10195–10213, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10195-2016, 2016. a, b
Ploeger, F., Konopka, P., Walker, K., and Riese, M.: Quantifying pollution transport from the Asian monsoon anticyclone into the lower stratosphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7055–7066, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7055-2017, 2017. a, b, c, d
Ploeger, F., Legras, B., Charlesworth, E., Yan, X., Diallo, M., Konopka, P., Birner, T., Tao, M., Engel, A., and Riese, M.: How robust are stratospheric age of air trends from different reanalyses?, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6085–6105, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6085-2019, 2019. a
Podglajen, A. and Ploeger, F.: Retrieving the age of air spectrum from tracers: principle and method, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 1767–1783, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1767-2019, 2019. a
Pommrich, R., Müller, R., Grooß, J.-U., Konopka, P., Ploeger, F., Vogel, B., Tao, M., Hoppe, C. M., Günther, G., Spelten, N., Hoffmann, L., Pumphrey, H.-C., Viciani, S., D'Amato, F., Volk, C. M., Hoor, P., Schlager, H., and Riese, M.: Tropical troposphere to stratosphere transport of carbon monoxide and long-lived trace species in the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS), Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 2895–2916, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2895-2014, 2014. a
Randel, W. J., Park, M., Emmons, L., Kinnison, D., Bernath, P., Walker, K. A., Boone, C., and Pumphrey, H.: Asian Monsoon Transport of Pollution to the Stratosphere, Science, 328, 611–613, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1182274, 2010. a
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., 117, D16305, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JD017751, 2012. a
Rolf, C., Vogel, B., Hoor, P., Afchine, A., Günther, G., Krämer, M., Müller, R., Müller, S., Spelten, N., and Riese, M.: Water vapor increase in the lower stratosphere of the Northern Hemisphere due to the Asian monsoon anticyclone observed during the TACTS/ESMVal campaigns, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 2973–2983, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2973-2018, 2018. a
Santee, M. L., Manney, G. L., Livesey, N. J., Schwartz, M. J., Neu, J. L., and Read, W. G.: A comprehensive overview of the climatological composition of the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone based on 10 years of Aura Microwave Limb Sounder measurements, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 122, 5491–5514, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD026408, 2017. a, b
Sheese, P. and Walker, K.: Data Quality Flags for ACE-FTS Level 2 Version 4.1/4.2 Data Set, Version V41, Borealis [data set], https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/BC4ATC, 2020. a
Tessum, M. W., Anenberg, S. C., Chafe, Z. A., Henze, D. K., Kleiman, G., Kheirbek, I., Marshall, J. D., and Tessum, C. W.: Sources of ambient PM2.5 exposure in 96 global cities, Atmos. Environ., 286, 119234, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119234, 2022. a
Tritscher, I., Pitts, M. C., Poole, L. R., Alexander, S. P., Cairo, F., Chipperfield, M. P., Grooß, J.-U., Höpfner, M., Lambert, A., Luo, B., Molleker, S., Orr, A., Salawitch, R., Snels, M., Spang, R., Woiwode, W., and Peter, T.: Polar Stratospheric Clouds: Satellite Observations, Processes, and Role in Ozone Depletion, Rev. Geophys., 59, e2020RG000702, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020RG000702, 2021. a
Tzella, A. and Legras, B.: A Lagrangian view of convective sources for transport of air across the Tropical Tropopause Layer: distribution, times and the radiative influence of clouds, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 12517–12534, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-12517-2011, 2011. a
University of Waterloo: ACE-FTS Level 2 data, ACE database, https://databace.scisat.ca/level2/ (last access: 27 January 2025), 2024. a
Vernier, J.-P., Thomason, L. W., and Kar, J.: CALIPSO detection of an Asian tropopause aerosol layer, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L07804, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL046614, 2011. a, b
Vogel, B., Günther, G., Müller, R., Grooß, J.-U., and Riese, M.: Impact of different Asian source regions on the composition of the Asian monsoon anticyclone and of the extratropical lowermost stratosphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13699–13716, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13699-2015, 2015. a
Vogel, B., Günther, G., Müller, R., Grooß, J.-U., Afchine, A., Bozem, H., Hoor, P., Krämer, M., Müller, S., Riese, M., Rolf, C., Spelten, N., Stiller, G. P., Ungermann, J., and Zahn, A.: Long-range transport pathways of tropospheric source gases originating in Asia into the northern lower stratosphere during the Asian monsoon season 2012, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15301–15325, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15301-2016, 2016. a
Wang, H., Lu, X., Jacob, D. J., Cooper, O. R., Chang, K.-L., Li, K., Gao, M., Liu, Y., Sheng, B., Wu, K., Wu, T., Zhang, J., Sauvage, B., Nédélec, P., Blot, R., and Fan, S.: Global tropospheric ozone trends, attributions, and radiative impacts in 1995–2017: an integrated analysis using aircraft (IAGOS) observations, ozonesonde, and multi-decadal chemical model simulations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13753–13782, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13753-2022, 2022. a
Wang, Y., Yuan, Q., Li, T., and Zhu, L.: Global spatiotemporal estimation of daily high-resolution surface carbon monoxide concentrations using Deep Forest, J. Clean. Prod., 350, 131500, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131500, 2022. a
Watson, P. A. G. and Gray, L. J.: How Does the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation Affect the Stratospheric Polar Vortex?, J. Atmos. Sci., 71, 391–409, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-13-096.1, 2014. a
Waugh, D. W., Crotwell, A. M., Dlugokencky, E. J., Dutton, G. S., Elkins, J. W., Hall, B. D., Hintsa, E. J., Hurst, D. F., Montzka, S. A., Mondeel, D. J., Moore, F. L., Nance, J. D., Ray, E. A., Steenrod, S. D., Strahan, S. E., and Sweeney, C.: Tropospheric SF6: Age of air from the Northern Hemisphere midlatitude surface, J. Geophys. Res., 118, 11429–11441, 013. a
Wright, J. S., Fu, R., Fueglistaler, S., Liu, Y. S., and Zhang, Y.: The influence of summertime convection over Southeast Asia on water vapor in the tropical stratosphere, J. Geophys. Res., 116, D12302, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD015416, 2011. a
Yan, X., Konopka, P., Ploeger, F., Podglajen, A., Wright, J. S., Müller, R., and Riese, M.: The efficiency of transport into the stratosphere via the Asian and North American summer monsoon circulations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15629–15649, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15629-2019, 2019. a, b, c, d
Yan, X., Konopka, P., Hauck, M., Podglajen, A., and Ploeger, F.: Asymmetry and pathways of inter-hemispheric transport in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6627–6645, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6627-2021, 2021. a, b, c
Yu, P., Rosenlof, K. H., Liu, S., Telg, H., Thornberry, T. D., Rollins, A. W., Portmann, R. W., Bai, Z., Ray, E. A., Duan, Y., Pan, L. L., Toon, O. B., Bian, J., and Gao, R.-S.: Efficient transport of tropospheric aerosol into the stratosphere via the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 114, 6972–6977, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1701170114, 2017. a, b, c, d, e
Short summary
Our study finds that the air mass fractions (AMFs) from the Asian boundary layer (ABL) to the polar regions are about 1.5 times larger than those from the same latitude band in the Southern Hemisphere. The transport of AMFs from the ABL to the polar vortex primarily occurs above 20 km and over timescales exceeding 2 years. Our analysis reveals a strong correlation between the polar pollutants and the AMFs from the ABL. About 20 % of SF6 in the polar stratosphere originates from the ABL.
Our study finds that the air mass fractions (AMFs) from the Asian boundary layer (ABL) to the...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint