Northern Hemisphere stratospheric polar vortex morphology under localized gravity wave forcing: a shape-based classification

Mehrdad, Sina; Marjani, Sajedeh; Handorf, Dörthe; Jacobi, Christoph

doi:10.5194/acp-26-3391-2026

Articles | Volume 26, issue 5

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-3391-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-3391-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 26, issue 5

Research article

|

05 Mar 2026

Research article |

| 05 Mar 2026

Northern Hemisphere stratospheric polar vortex morphology under localized gravity wave forcing: a shape-based classification

Sina Mehrdad, Sajedeh Marjani, Dörthe Handorf, and Christoph Jacobi

Data sets

UA-ICON Current-Climate Simulation: Control Run (C) Sina Mehrdad et al. https://doi.org/10.26050/WDCC/UAICON_GW_C

UA-ICON Current-Climate Simulation: Himalayas Gravity Wave Forcing (HI) Sina Mehrdad et al. https://doi.org/10.26050/WDCC/UAICON_GW_HI

UA-ICON Current-Climate Simulation: Northwest America Gravity Wave Forcing (NA) Sina Mehrdad et al. https://doi.org/10.26050/WDCC/UAICON_GW_NA

UA-ICON Current-Climate Simulation: East Asia Gravity Wave Forcing (EA) Sina Mehrdad et al. https://doi.org/10.26050/WDCC/UAICON_GW_EA

Short summary

We studied how strong wind disturbances caused by mountains can disturb the polar vortex, a large pool of cold air high above the North Pole. Using simulations, we boosted these wind disturbances over the Himalayas, North America, and East Asia. We found they can shift, weaken, and mix the vortex in different ways depending on the region. This helps explain how mountains influence the upper atmosphere and improve forecasts of extreme cold weather at the surface.